


Heroes

by Reid_Yo



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 14:19:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2696129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reid_Yo/pseuds/Reid_Yo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story of love and loss, pain and pleasure, happiness and grief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He loved the way it felt, the energy, the excitement, the rush, it was all electrifying. The band played like they never had before and he sang with a voice that made the fans dance and rock along with him, he danced around the stage with all the energy he had as the music pounded and the fans chanted his name and sang along, he couldn't have felt any better if he tried. Suddenly the guitar started to become jagged, the notes were out of sync and off key but he tried to continue for the sake of the fans. Just as suddenly, the base stopped and then the drums, the guitar came to a grinding halt and he looked around to find that the band had abandoned him, he was alone in front of thousands of fans who were getting angrier by the second. He was frozen in fear as the fans shouted and rioted, screaming at him to get off the stage, but he couldn't do anything, he was to scared. The fans became restless and started to push the barriers and eventually the flimsy metal structure collapsed, allowing the fans access to the stage, and to him. He tried to run but the fans wouldn't let him, they grabbed him and pulled him down to the floor, he looked up at the people who once idolized him and only saw anger, then one of the fans lifted his foot and slammed it down on his face.

When he sat up his heart was pounding, he looked around and at his alarm clock that was buzzing like a saw cutting through metal. He clicked it off and held his head in his hands, he had had that dream again, every time things started to feel good he had that damn dream and it tore him apart. He decided he shouldn't ponder the meaning of the dream and headed downstairs to try and get on with his life. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he heard clattering in his kitchen, slowly shuffling across the hallway he quickly kicked the door open and saw a tall man leaning against the counter wearing earphones, his face in his phone no doubt texting or on the internet

"Arin!"

The man looked up and smiled, took out his earphones and put his phone down

"Hey Ross, I hope I didn't wake you,"

"How did you get into my house?"

"You gave me a key,"

He flashed the key at Ross and laughed at his confusion, he knew what his friend had been through and was willing to do anything he could to help

"I made you breakfast, at least I tried to,"

He pointed to some slightly burnt toast on the counter and lukewarm coffee, Ross took the coffee and sat at the table

"Did you sleep well?"

"I had that bloody dream again, the one where everything is going great on the stage and then suddenly the fans turn on me,"

"It's about her isn't it?"

Ross sighed and sipped the coffee, trying his best to not seem to disgusted at Arin's effort, he knew it was her, how could it not be, she meant everything to him and she just left, didn't even give him the common decency of a goodbye, just one day decided that he wasn't enough, he suddenly snapped out of his trance

"Yea, she left me Arin, after all I did for her she just left,"

"I know man, but you're better than her, you don't need her,"

He sat down and passed a napkin to Ross, he knew he was going to cry and he didn't want him to bottle it up

"It's ok, you can cry around me, I'm here for you,"

Ross chocked down the tears and looked to Arin

"What about Suzy?"

"Suzy is kind of my girlfriend Ross, I'm sorry,"

"No, why are you here with me, shouldn't you be with her right now?"

Arin laughed and pointed to the clock

"She's at work until seven, and she wouldn't mind, she knows how much you need me, in fact it was her idea to come over and check on you,"

"She's a good person, you're lucky,"

"Hey, you'll get someone, trust me,"

Ross stared at his coffee, he tried to remember a happier time when he didn't have to deal with any of this, but only one memory came to mind as the stared into the dark brown liquid, and it was the one memory that he didn't want to think about right now, but he couldn't help it.

\---

He was alone in the coffee shop, just like always, as he sat and stared at his coffee he noticed the other couples giggling and smiling with each other in the corner of his eye, it almost made him sick, why should everyone get to have love but him, what a pathetic life he had, 21 and he'd never had a girlfriend, never even been on a date for god's sake. Suddenly he heard a voice that snapped him out of his trance, he looked up to find a girl looking at him, slightly confused.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Every other seat is taken,"

"Yea..sure go ahead,"

She sat down and Ross felt himself get more and more awkward, he didn't know why, it was just some girl sitting at the chair opposite him, some very pretty girl, who had eyes so clear and green he was surprised they weren't blinding him, he smiled politely but hid his face when he felt himself blushing.

"This place isn't usually so busy, it's weird huh?"

"Um...yea, it's messed up alright,"

She smiled as if to try and relax him, smiled in a way that a parent would if their child had scrapped their knee on the playground, it worked and he felt his body slowly but surely start to relax until all the tension was gone.

"I hope you don't find it rude if I ask where you're from, you've got an unusual accent,"

Now she was the one blushing, she was worried that she'd crossed a line but Ross knew what that felt like and decided to not let her go through the roller coaster of emotions that it causes

"Not at all, I get asked just about everywhere I go, I'm from Australia,"

He smiled in an attempt to defuse the tension that they both knew was there but her face remained slightly red

"That's awesome, where in Australia?"

"Perth,"

"I don't even know where that is, don't really know why I asked,"

She giggled which made him laugh too and for the first time he saw her smile, it was as if time had stopped and she was the only thing in the world, he felt a feeling he had never felt before and at first was scared, but was suddenly thrust back into reality by the buzzing of his phone on the table.

"Oh, I should probably answer that, wouldn't want to be rude,"

She giggled lightly and he read the text on the screen, It was Arin asking why he was late. He looked at the clock and remembered that he was meant to meet Arin, but he couldn't just leave this girl, she was the most amazing person he had ever met and he'd only known her about 5 minutes. After a while a worried look swiped its way across his face and the girl picked up on this

"Is everything ok?"

"Yea, it's just my friend wondering where I am,"

"Oh, I guess you'll have to be going then?"

He noticed the slight sadness in her tone and wondered if she was being playful, or maybe she wanted him gone, what if she was lying to him to try and spare his feelings, could this really all be a lie...

"Maybe I'll see you in here again, I usually come in for a coffee around lunch,"

"Yea, maybe,"

He still felt uneasy, like he was letting her slip and he didn't like it, should he play hard to get, or lay it all on the line, Ross took a deep breath and grabbed his receipt then produced a pen from his pocket, a few seconds of scribbling later and he passed it to her, his phone number written clearly in the blanks between his order and the payment total

"Here's my mobile number, you can text me if you ever want to meet up again,"

She stared at the page for a while then neatly folded it and placed it into her pocket, Ross let out a sigh that he was surprised didn't get mistaken for a gas leak, he looked at her and noticed a confused look on her face

"Mobile number? What is that, like a pager?"

"No no no, what is it you Americans call it? It's this!"

He lifted his phone and waved it in the air for a while

"Oh a cell phone!"

"Yes! Cell phone!"

She giggled and felt like she could ask him about their differences in pronunciation all day, but he had to go. He got up and smiled before he turned and walked away, he only took two steps before he heard her behind him

"Shannon!"

He turned and looked at her quizzically, she ran towards him to clarify herself and dismiss the notion that she was crazy

"My name is Shannon, I just realized that I didn't tell you,"

"Oh, I'm Ross, it was nice meeting you,"

"You too, I'll be sure to message you,"

\----

"Ross? Ross!"

"Huh, what?"

Ross looked up from his coffee and stared at Arin, a worried look was on his face as if he knew that Ross had recounted the memory

"You have to forget about her, you are going to find someone else and they will be the perfect match for you,"

Ross thought to himself for a second as Arin watched, ready to comfort him if he needed it. After a painful minute, Ross finally spoke up

"Tell me how you met Suzy again,"

"Um....No man that's not important, let's go see a movie or something..."

Ross slammed his hand angrily on the table and screamed just loud enough that the neighbors might think he was insane

"What! You think I'm going to cry? Tell me the god damn story!"

"O...Ok dude, just chill out ok?"

"Tell me!"

Arin cleared his throat and took a deep breath, he knew that the story was probably going to make Ross feel horrible but he also knew that the alternative was a fight and he didn't want that

"Ok, Suzy and I met at an anime convention and then we got talking and eventually she moved from Florida to California and we fell in love, yadah yadah yadah then end,"

"What age were you?"

"Ross, don't make me say it,"

"Come on, what age were you when you met you're wife,"

"Fine, I was sixteen, but that doesn't matter, some people get lucky with love while others have to wait, but everyone finds the one,"

"sixteen? You were sixteen. I can't believe you were only sixteen when you met the girl you were going to marry. I'm twenty seven and what have I got, absolutely nothing. I've had one girlfriend in my life and she dumped me for some other asshole because I wasn't enough! Is there ever going to be a girl who thinks I am enough? Is there!"

"You know there will, who wouldn't want a foreign guy anyway?"

Arin could see the tears forming on Ross' eyes and decided that he couldn't let him go through the pain anymore. He picked up the napkin and handed it to Ross, closing the shaking fingers around it and patting the pale hand

"Come on, dry your eyes dude, it's all ok,"

"Nobody loves me, I just want someone who will love me the way that you love Suzy,"

"I know, and I love you Ross. Obviously not in the way you want but never forget that I am here for you, no matter what the situation is,"

Ross whipped his eyes and smiled weakly, still shaking a bit. He turned to Arin and his smile widened

"Thanks Arin, you're the greatest guy ever,"

"Let's go do something to take your mind off all of this."

"Sure,"

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

After a quick stop of at a burger joint, Arin decided that Ross would probably benefit more from seeing a movie than sitting alone in his house the rest of the day. When the two finally arrived at the cinema Ross was about ready to collapse from exhaustion and decided to take a seat on a nearby bench while Arin got the tickets. After a few minutes flicking through his phone Ross heard a voice from above him, when he looked up he saw Arin looking back with a disappointed look on his face

"Sorry dude, no more tickets for anything that we would like,"

"There must be something,"

"I checked the list like twenty times, nothing,"

"What should we do then?"

Arin looked around for a while and then his face lit up, he quickly pointed to the source of his excitement. Ross quickly turned his head to look at just what could possibly have Arin in such a mood

"No!"

"Oh come on Ross, you need it,"

"This isn't the 40's anymore, we are not going into an ice cream store,"

He folded his arms reluctantly and let out an angry sigh

"Well I'm going, do you want anything?"

Ross mumbled angrily under his breath, making Arin lean down and stare at him

"You don't want any ice cream? What did you do with Ross you crazy imposter,"

It didn't take long for the smile to slide across the auzzies face and for him to finally give in

"Fine, let's just make it quick ok?"

"How long have you know me Ross, you should know that I always finish quick,"

With a quick wink the two walked into the store and sat down. Ross tried to remain angry at Arin but it was hard, he was to funny and quick witted, every time that he saw Ross frown he had a line ready to make him smile again. As Ross sat at the table waiting for Arin he noticed a girl sitting just a few tables away on her own, he knew what that felt like. The girl seemed kinda familiar to him but he could quite put his finger on it, he thought about it and just as Arin put the orders down on the table it dawned on him that the girl he had seemingly been staring at was his ex. He gripped Arin's arm as he sat and pulled him up quickly

"Ross what the fuck, I had to pay for these you know,"

"Don't say my name, we need to go,"

"Why? The FBI finally realise that you don't actually have a green card?"

This time the joke did nothing to affect Ross, it only aggravated him more to the point that he was dragging at Arin's arm like a bored child who wants to play with his dad

"Shut up and let's go, we can take the ice cream,"

In a desperate attempt to sit back down and eat his frozen treat Arin pulled away and slightly turned so that Ross could not get him, but this made Arin see the source of the sudden emotion change. He looked at her for a second before turning to Ross and lifting the ice cream quickly

"You're right, that bench is probably still free right?"

The two hurried out, the second he had escaped from the stores warm constraints Ross collapsed onto the ground, with no warning at all. Arin looked around from his phone to see his friend on the floor and rushed to his aid

"Ross!"

He picked him up and propped him against the flimsy plastic bench before pulling out his phone and ringing Suzy, she would probably be working but he may as well try

"Hello?"

"Suzy? Where are you?"

"I'm at home, you still with Ross?"

"Kinda, he passed out and I need you to drive down here so we can get him home,"

"Oh my god is he ok?"

"He's fine, just shock. I'll explain later, we are at the ice cream store we went to last week, near the cinema,"

"I'll be right there,"

"Ok, I'll see you soon,"

He hung up and crouched down beside the still unconscious Ross, gently pushing his shoulder to try and wake him up. His face was white as snow and his skin was cold to touch, as if he had spent the night in a freezer. While waiting for Suzy many people passed and expressed their concern with Arin having to tell each one that it was just a simple faint and there was no serious issue, that was until Shannon came outside and saw him.

"Oh, hey Arin,"

Arin never really had a problem with Shannon, but she cheated on Ross and broke his heart so he knew that she could be a horrible person

"What do you want Shannon?"

His tone was surprisingly bitter, even in his own eyes, and it made Shannon take a step back before she replied

"What...what happened to Ross?"

"He's fine, why don't you leave before he wakes up, you're not the thing that he wants to be seeing just after he fainted,"

"Um...ok then, I'll see you again,"

"Whatever,"

Shannon slowly walked away and Arin turned his attention back to Ross who was thankfully still unconscious. After a few minutes he heard Suzy's voice and looked up from the limp body beside him

"Is he ok? What happened? Have you tried waking him up yet? Oh my god..."

"Wow Suzy calm down! He's fine, I'm not sure why it happened and I did but he's out for the count, let's just get him home yeah?"

"Ok, you grab his left side,"

"Alright, come on Ross,"

They lifted him and dragged him to the car, flopped him in the back seat and drove off towards their house. As she drove, Arin looked into the back of the car occasionally before turning back to Suzy

"It was Shannon,"

"What, she was there!"

"I wanted to make sure he wouldn't hear me and he looks like a baby sleeping in their but yea, he saw her in the store and fainted the second we walked out,"

"Poor guy, I can only imagine what seeing her brought up in him, all the good times they had together are probably like nightmares to him now,"

"Yeah, maybe he needs to move back home,"

"Arin! How can you say that about him? You don't  have to move just because one girl dumped you one time,"

"It wasn't one girl Suze, it was his first love. She meant the world to him and she abused the crap out of his trust until he was a shell of his former self,"

"You didn't move state when you're first love dumped you did you? Or did you dump her?"

"I didn't dump her, I'm in the car with her right now,"

"Really, so you're cheating on me,"

She smiled devilishly at him and he laughed, he loved the way she would always help him calm down, even in the most stressful moments in his life. When the car finally stopped Arin noticed the surroundings and immediately looked at Suzy with a concerned and shocked look on his face

"What the hell are we doing here?"

"Did Ross move? I thought he lived here,"

"Yeah this is his house but we can't just leave him on his own, not after he just fainted because he saw his ex!"

"What are we meant to do with him?"

"Let's bring him back to our house and try to wake him up, he'll probably still be in shock from seeing her,"

"Baby you know I love him but we aren't taking care of him like he's a child,"

"I know Suzy, let's just get him awake and we'll see if he's ok,"

"Fine, but only because I like his silly little accent,"

She smiled at Arin who returned the smile and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before the car was kicked into gear and set off for their house. After possibly the most silent drive that either of them have sat through the car pulled to a halt outside the Hanson household, with Arin almost jumping out of the car and opening the back door. Suzy quickly followed and together they dragged Ross out of the car and into the house, where they flopped him down on the couch and sat on the floor in front of him. After a few tense minutes Suzy finally shot the elephant in the room

"How are we going to wake him up?"

Arin knew that one of them had to bring the question up but it still shocked him when she said it. After careful deliberation he decided that the best way to do it was to use force and shock, so he stood up and shook Ross violently, screaming at him just loud enough that it would not sound like he was abusing Suzy if the neighbours heard.

"Come on Ross, wake up!"

After much shaking a small grunt was heard and with it Arin's and Suzy's faces lit up as they stared at the now moving boy in front of them

"No, I don't want to go to work,"

"I'm not asking you to go to work Ross, I'm asking you to get up and talk to me,"

Ross slowly rose from the couch and stared at the couple who looked so excited to see him

"What happened to me? Did you poison my ice cream?"

He looked angrily at Arin but suddenly calmed down when he felt Suzy sit beside him, he may not have been the smartest guy in the city but he knew that arguing in front of Suzy was a bad idea, because it almost always left her in pain.

"It's ok Ross, Arin didn't do anything, you fainted. Do you remember anything?"

"All I remember is having to rush out of the ice cream store and then now,"

"Do you remember why you rushed out of the store?"

Suzy's tone was so relaxing and gentle that it made Ross feel like he was a small puppy and Suzy was his new owner, he felt like he could say anything to her and she would never judge him but part of him held back the answer, maybe if he stopped thinking about it he would forget

"No...do you guys know?"

He looked sheepishly at Arin and then back to Suzy, who now seemed disappointed in him. Arin sat down on the other side of him and put his hand on his lap, gently patting it

"Ross, it's ok, we aren't going to make fun of you,"

"Yeah tell us,"

He knew that Suzy was to his left but her voice made him almost jump out of his skin, even if it was so soft and gentle

"I...I can't remember, I swear!"

His face grew more and more red with embarrassment as his eyes darted from right to left, right to left, Arin, Suzy, Arin, Suzy

"She was there!"

The revelation came just as Ross was about to explode from tension and as soon as the words left his mouth he felt the tears approaching, deciding to try and choke them down to spare his friends the pain of seeing him cry

"I'm such a baby, I fainted because I saw my ex, and now I'm about to cry because she's the only thing I think about at night and I want her back!"

Suzy put her arm around him and pulled him slightly closer to her, making him feel even more nervous than he already was

"You're not a baby, you really loved Shannon and it's perfectly natural to feel sad when you see her and all of those memories come flooding back,"

Ross looked at her with tears filling his eyes, still on the verge of crying but not quite there yet

"Really?"

"Of course, it doesn't mean you're a baby, it means you're a human being,"

"And it wasn't your fault that she left, she cheated on you remember, she's the skank,"

He looked over to Arin who was wearing the same sympathetic smile that Suzy was, it made Ross feel so safe that he had friends like this, friends who were willing to give up their own time for him. Suddenly there was a buzz from his pocket and he pulled his phone out, then just stared. He stared at the screen as if he had just been shot and was trying to comprehend the situation. After a few buzzes Arin finally spoke up

"Ross, are you going to answer the phone?"

No reply, he just kept staring at the screen. Suzy craned her neck and caught a glimpse of the contact Id, then glanced at Arin to let him know, silently mouthing the word 'Shannon' to him, Arin nodded and gently went to take the phone out of Ross' hands. Ross let the phone slide from his loose grip and be put gently on the couch arm before Arin turned back and patted his leg gently

"It's ok man, she isn't going to talk to you ever again, I promise!"

The determination in Arin's voice was somewhat helpful to Ross, but that didn't end the feeling of pure sickness in his mouth. Just as he felt like he was going to vomit he turned to Suzy and suddenly hugged her

"Oh, my god you scared me there Ross,"

He pulled away in fear and began to cry, hiding his face in his hands and crying loudly without any holding back. Loud gasps escaped his mouth every few seconds and eventually it subsided into a small sniffing noise every now and again between the gentle sobs. Suzy slowly reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, making him flinch with the contact

"It's ok silly, I didn't mind that you hugged me, It just took me by surprise is all,"

Ross looked up and stared at the warm smile that was looking back before gently and cautiously hugging her, but it didn't take long for Suzy to pull him in and wrap her arms around him, making him feel a love that he hasn't felt in a while

"I'll always give you a hug if you need it Ross,"

"Me too, but, you know, that's all,"

Ross smiled at Arin's joke and cleared his eyes before letting go of Suzy and straitening himself up and composing himself, he then spoke for what seemed to be the first time in a month

"A...arin?"

his voice was soft and delicate, just like Suzy's had been

"Yea?"

"Will you go out with me tonight and help me get really really drunk?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I'm sure,"

Arin looked at Suzy who silently nodded, sure she wanted to spend the night with Arin, but Ross needed it more

"Sure thing buddy, I just hope you can keep up with me,"

Ross laughed more to himself than to the actual joke but Arin and Suzy were just happy that he laughed, and then without any warning he got up and walked into the kitchen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, i'll try to update this story at least once a week and hopefully you all like it enough to share your words of encouragment


	3. Chapter 3

The bar was empty except for Arin, Ross and a smattering of other people, all of whom seem just as depressed and heartbroken as Ross was. Arin walked over to the table with the drinks and set them down, before he could take his seat Ross had grabbed one of the glasses and quickly started drinking the contents. When Arin sat down he looked over to Ross with a look of disappointment on his face

"Ross, please don't just sit here and drink all night, you know that will only make things worse,"

"Shut up Arin, if I want to drink then I'll drink, you're not my dad!"

Arin was blown away by the sudden anger, and by the look on his face, so was Ross. After a short silence Arin looked shyly at Ross and spoke gently, so as not to aggravate the demon in front of him

"I'm sorry man, if you want to drink yourself apart in here then go ahead,"

"No, I'm sorry, it's just been really hard on me and you were just trying to help, let's talk about something else anyway,"

"Alright, did you have anything in mind?"

Ross thought to himself for a second and after a minute of silence between the two he finally had the perfect talking point, or at least he thought so. When he spoke he spoke with the most confidence that he could muster, making sure he didn't seem like someone who was on the edge of breaking

"Let's talk about your childhood, you never talk about it,"

"The reason I never talk about it is because it's nothing special, I grew up, went to school then got a job. I'm just an average guy,"

"Oh, I thought you would have some funny stories or something,"

"Not that you wouldn't know. Why don't you tell me about Australia?"

"Wait a second, excuse me,"

Ross turned to the waitress that was walking past him, catching her attention and making her turn

"Can I help you?"

Her voice was light and gentle, it made Ross freeze and stare blushing all the while. After seeing the look of fear in Ross' eyes Arin quickly butted in to save his friend

"Yes sorry, we'll just have two more beers please,"

"Sure, I'll get right on it,"

"Thank you,"

She left to pour the drinks and Arin turned to Ross, who was still frozen in shock

"Dude, what the hell happened to you there, did that one drink switch your god damn brain off?"

Ross stared at Arin for a second before snapping back to reality and shaking his head, trying to regain his composure

"What do you want to know about Australia then?"

"Ross don't act like nothing happened there, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, it's just that..."

"The waitress made you freeze, I think I know what you're feeling,"

"But she might be married,"

"And she might be single, why don't you just freaking talk to her?"

Before Ross could answer the girl came back with the two beers on a tray. She placed one down on the table in front of Arin and then turned to Ross

"I'll need your ID please,"

Ross was the most surprised he'd been in a very very long time, he fumbled with his pockets and stumbled over his words, desperately trying to say something. He looked at Arin who was watching with a grin on his face

"If you don't have an ID then you are going to have to leave, you are clearly not twenty one,"

"I...I am, I swear, tell her Arin, tell her I'm old enough!"

Ross' voice was filled with panic and desperation but Arin wanted to play with him just a little longer. The girl turned to Arin and smiled as he straightened himself and cleared his throat

"Son, you don't call me by my first name and I'm afraid she's got you,"

The girl held back her laughter and turned back to Ross, trying as hard as she could to keep a straight face as he just about spat out his reply

"Miss I really am twenty seven, he's just being an idiot like always, I swear, please don't throw me out, please!"

"Ross,"

Ross turned to Arin who had finally decided that he should break the news to Ross before he fainted again

"She's kidding, but can you blame her, you do look about sixteen,"

Ross quickly turned to the now laughing waitress and she set the drink down on the table

"Don't call me Miss, call me Holly,"

Ross blushed a deep red and looked at the floor in defeat. Arin smiled at his victory over the auzzie and turned his attention back to Holly

"That was very cruel Holly, I bet your boyfriend would be very disappointed if he knew you were playing with customers like that,"

This time it was Holly who blushed and looked down, staring at her shoes for a few seconds and then looking up at Arin again, who was now looking worried, as if he had crossed a line

"I...I don't have a boyfriend, I'm single,"

Ross looked up and immediately spoke without even thinking about what he was saying

"You're single, that's crazy, I'm double!"

Arin and Holly stared at Ross and eventually the three broke into laughter at the stupidity of the joke. While they were all laughing Holly peeked at Ross' hands and noticed that there was no ring, unlike Arin's, she then looked round at the clock and sighed happily

"Thank God, that's my shift over,"

"Oh, I'll see you here again then,"

Ross hung his head down again in defeat and watched Holly's shows leave his peripheral vision, waiting a few minutes to look up at Arin and speaking in a confused and innocent voice

"She's nice isn't she?"

"Please don't tell me you didn't see it,"

"See what?"

"God damn it Ross she really likes you, she looked at your hand to make sure you weren't taken and that made her smile,"

"You really think she likes me?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

"She was really pretty, and her laugh was the most amazing noise ever,"

"So you love her too?"

Ross felt the blush hit him like a punch to the face and he looked around the room, trying to fix his eyes on anything but Arin, who was looking back with a smug smile on his face

"I mean, she's, she's nice and all...but I don't know about love,"

Suddenly he saw her standing at the edge of the table, and she was smiling directly at him

"Do you mind if I take a seat?"

"This one? Yeah sure, nobody's using it,"

Ross slide the seat towards her and turned back to Arin, who sighed and face palmed at the scene that Ross was unfolding before him

"I meant do you mind if I sit here,"

Ross looked back up at the now slightly embarrassed Holly and quickly pulled his chair around the table to allow room for her

"Oh, I knew that, I was just kidding, funny huh?"

He watched her sit and look over at Arin, causing her to laugh as Arin shook his head in disappointment. When he noticed her he finished off his drink and started up conversation because he knew that Ross would sit there in silence all night if he let him

"So where are you from Holly?"

"I was born here in La, what about you?"

"I'm the same, a kid of California,"

He triumphantly lifted his fist and watched as Holly giggled then turned to Ross, who had been watching the conversation the entire time

"Were you born in LA too?"

When Ross replied he was surprised that words were even leaving his mouth, he always had trouble speaking to girls growing up but after what he had been through he wasn't sure he could even trust one again

"I...I was born in Perth, it's in Australia,"

His voice was almost a whisper but she heard it and as soon as she heard the city she smiled excitedly and seemed to relax herself

"Perth? That's awesome, I thought there was something odd about your accent,"

"I...I spent like two years there before I moved here, and my parents are Irish so I don't have a real accent,"

"We could make it a new accent, we'll call it...what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Ross, that's Arin,"

He pointed to Arin who had his face in his phone and a smile on his face, no doubt texting Suzy. Ross turned back to Holly and found himself a lot more relaxed now than he did a few minutes before, and it seemed to be because of her

"We'll call your accent a 'Ross accent',"

Ross laughed at this and his light laugh made Holly follow with laughter of her own. After hearing her laugh and seeing her smile Ross felt a confidence like he'd never felt before and he decided that he would see just how much he could get this beautiful girl to laugh

"Does that mean people with a Ross accent are from O'Donovan Land?"

Her laughter increased and Ross noticed her stunning smile and outstanding blonde hair, she really was the most amazing woman he'd ever seen. After the laughter had ended the two talked and talked the rest of the night until they were forced out due to the bars finally closing its doors. When they got out onto the street they almost forgot about Arin so it was a big surprise to Ross when he was suddenly gripped from behind while out on a dark street

"I think we should start to get home dude, it's getting late,"

"What are you talking about, I don't live with you,"

He frantically turned to Holly to get rid of any notion that they were a couple

"I don't live with him, he's married, to a girl,"

"She knows Ross but you do need to get home and I'm sure she needs to as well,"

Ross turned back to Holly who was smiling happily at him

"It's alright Ross, I'm working tomorrow so you can come by and see my again,"

"Really?"

"Um yeah, why wouldn't you be allowed to?"

"I...I don't know,"

He smiled like a nervous teen and said goodbye to Holly, then joined Arin over on the opposite side of the street

"I'm not walking home in the dark, we'll get attacked for money!"

"It's fine, I texted Suze to pick us up, she's on her way,"

"Alright, cool,"

"I bet you're glad you went out today huh?"

"Yeah, thanks for helping me,"

"Anytime,"

The two waited until Suzy arrived and hopped in the car, then they sped off into the night on the way to Ross' house.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Ross woke up with no problems, no nightmares and no pounding heart. He grabbed his phone and saw a text from Arin that he had received only a few minutes beforehand

Arin: I can't go with you to that bar today, I'm spending the day with Suzy, sorry

As soon as he had finished reading he pressed the call button and waited for Arin to pick up

"Hello?"

"Arin, I need you to come with me, you saw how I was around her,"

"Wow Ross slow down, you'll be fine and I already made plans with Suzy,"

"What if I don't know what to say, or what if say something stupid and make her hate me,"

"That's not going to happen, she likes you a lot,"

"She was just being nice, there's no way a girl like her would date me,"

"I thought that about Suzy, and wasn't I wrong?"

"Fair enough, I'll go then, you have fun with Suze,"

"I will, bye,"

"Bye,"

Ross hung up and fell back in his bed, he felt a weird feeling when he heard Holly talking about her childhood and her pets that he had never felt before, but he wanted that felling to last forever. He rolled over and started to imagine himself with her, walking around town holding her hand, being on the beach with her, smelling her perfume that almost made him faint the first time she walked by. He closed his eyes and pictured her, her smile was the most amazing thing ever and it made him feel so happy. He imagined her eyes and almost melted as those dark brown beauties made him feel like he was in heaven. When he opened his eyes he noticed that almost two hours had passed, two solid hours of thinking about Holly, he knew he had to go to that bar alone, but he was way too nervous, so he started to think of a solution

"Holly, get back to work!"

"Sorry boss, I'm kinda distracted,"

Holly started to pour drinks for the drunks that had been screaming at her while she daydreamed. When they all final sat back down her mind started to wonder again to the shy man that she had met the night before, he was so cute and at the same time he was so scared. He seemed more like a boy than a full grown man but she liked that, the innocence in him made her feel relaxed because she knew he was not thinking about her in a sexual way, he was getting to know her as a person and that was very rare in this city. She smiled to herself and tried to ignore the voice coming from in front of her

"Holly?"

All she could think of was his bright blue eyes and how they were like lights in the darkness to her, so clear and beautiful, she could swear that they were contacts because she had never seen such a clean and deep blue

"H...holly?"

And his skin was pale but that didn't bother her because it made him stand out in the otherwise dark and gloomy bar that was filled with drunks fighting over stupid things like the best president. Meeting Ross had made her feel so happy that she wasn't sure if she could even cope seeing him again. She had been in love before and every time she met someone she ended up dating she got the same feeling that she had got when Ross first looked at her with his beautiful eyes

"Did I do something wrong?"

She turned to see the same blue marble eyes that she had just been thinking about, it took her a few seconds to realise that he was really there and that she wasn't seeing things. She smiled and talked in her usual happy and soft voice

"Ross? I'm sorry I was daydreaming,"

Ross smiled back and laughed nervously

"I'm glad you came back, last night was fun,"

"It was super fun, your stories were so cool!"

Ross almost shouted with excitement and this made Holly laugh, which in turn made Ross almost sick with happiness

"Thanks, although I never got to hear about your childhood, growing up in Australia must have been super fun,"

"I was only there until I was like 2, I don't remember it that much really,"

"Did you never go back?"

"Only to see my family, and that never lasted more than a week, I's love to go back for a holiday but I need the money first,"

Holly giggled as Ross finished her sentence and looked down to try and hide the smirk across her face. Ross wasn't angry at this because she looked super cute when she tried to hide her smile, even if her smile was cute on its own

"What, I wasn't joking,"

"Your accent when you said 'holiday' it just sounds so funny, not in, like, a bad way or anything,"

Her face froze with fear when she realised that she might have scared or insulted him but when she noticed the smile on his face she realised that he had probably heard this a million times before.

"It's fine, I get called out about my accent nearly every day,"

"That must get annoying,"

"Not really, people get used to it, like Arin never talks about it because he just knows that's how I talk,"

"I think it's nice, refreshingly different,"

Ross smiled and was filled with childish glee as Holly complimented the one [art of him that always made him feel self conscious, his accent was the main reason that he never talked to girl as they always spent their time just getting him to say loads of different words to laugh

"Thanks, I like yours,"

"Awesome, do you want a drink or..."

"Oh yea, um...can I just have whatever you gave me yesterday, it was great,"

"Sure,"

Holly began to pour a drink as Ross looked around the gloomy bar to see if anyone had the same enthusiasm as he did, but they all looked like they had lost the will to live and it made Ross wonder why such a sweet girl like Holly would take a job in such a dump, maybe she wasn't as sweet and kind as she seemed. Just as he felt a sickness in his stomach the thud of thick glass on wood snapped him back into reality and he looked forward to see Holly smiling with a glass in front of him

"Thanks, how much are they?"

"It's fine, I'll pay for it,"

"No you don't have to do that, I'm not poor or anything!"

Panic filled Ross' voice as he desperately plunged his hand into his pocket and threw some notes on the table, then looked at Holly only to find a shocked expression

"Wow it's ok, I didn't think that, I just didn't want to make you feel like you had to pay to be here,"

"Oh, sorry I just...I hate when people do stuff for me because it makes me feel like a kid,"

"That's alright I get the same way sometimes,"

"Thanks, here,"

He handed her the handful of scrunched notes and looked down at the cold, amber liquid in front of him, then took a huge gulp and rested his arms on the counter

"Slow down there, you don't have to pay with every sip,"

"I'm really thirsty, I haven't drank anything all day,"

"Then drink away, It's not like I'm going to stop you, the more you drink the more pay I get,"

She laughed causing Ross to laugh and again feel sick when her beautiful smile was flashed in his direction and for just one second it felt like nothing else in the world mattered and that only the two of them existed, but that second was soon over when Ross was suddenly flung onto the ground, hitting his head violently on the bar as he fell, knocking him unconscious

"Hey, can I place my fircken order now that that kid is out of the way?"

"What the hell did you do that for!"

"I've been trying to order for like twenty minutes, if you two would stop talking then maybe you would have heard me,"

"You didn't have to push him off his stool,"

She ran around the counter and leant down beside Ross, lifting his head and resting it on her knee, then gently tapping his face with her hand

"Ross? Ross are you ok?"

She suddenly felt a panic like never before and a million thoughts raced though her head, what if he sued, what if he never came back, some random drunk might have just ruined her chances of ever seeing Ross again. She continued to lightly slap him and after a few unsuccessful attempts she rested her hand on his leg and felt his phone, he would never need to know that she used it. She pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked it then scrolled through the contacts until she found Arin's name then called him

"Ross, I told you I was busy today, you'll have to go to the bar alone,"

"Arin? This is Holly, Ross hit his head on the counter and he's not waking up, I need you to come and get him,"

"Oh god, I'll be there as soon as I can, thanks for calling,"

He hung up as Holly picked Ross up, brung him over to a stall and placed him down on a seat, then placed the phone in front of him, should he wake up. After a few minutes there was still no sign of Arin and Ross had not woken up, suddenly Holly had an idea, one that might ruin what Ross thinks of her but she was willing to take that chance. She grabbed his phone and quickly sent a message to her own, then locked Ross' and saved the number on her own. Just as she finished her devilish scheme the door swung open and Arin rushed over to her

"What happened?"

"Some drunk threw him off his seat and he hit his head, there's no or anything but I can't get him up, should we call an ambulance?"

"No he'll be fine, but let's get him back to my house, at least there we can take care of him,"

Holly got up to help with lifting Ross but suddenly heard a rough voice from across the bar

"If you leave to help that kid then you're fired Holly,"

Holly never planned to quit the job she had, not yet at least, she needed the money and it's not like it was the worst thing in the world to her, but she was pretty sure she loved Ross so she acted completely on impulse and love

"Then take it, I never liked it anyway, come on Arin,"

Arin watched with shocked eyes as Holly threw her apron at the manager and rushed over to aid Ross. She gently lifted him and looked to Arin for some help

"Can you get the door?"

"Um...yes, sure,"

Arin rushed over to the door and opened it, then followed Holly to his car and helped her lay Ross down on the ground as they opened the doors

"That was a really amazing thing you just did there, you gave up our job to help someone you barely know,"

"Please don't tell him but I think I like him, like a lot,"

Arin smiled and promised not to tell as they opened the door and placed Ross in the backseat, watching as he slumped over. Arin turned to Holly who was still blushing after revealing her love for Ross

"I think you will need to sit beside him so he doesn't spend the entire time like that and ruin his back,"

"Good idea, what if he wakes up?"

"He'll be fine, he'll probably just see you and revert to his nervous self,"

"Alright,"

Holly move Ross over and climbed in beside him then rested his head on her shoulder and smiled at the sight of the peaceful man beside her. Arin got in the driver's seat and the car set off for his house. There was a long silence between Holly and Arin as Holly was too focused on Ross, he looked even cuter and more innocent as he slept against her. She leaned down and gently sniffed his hear then looked back up to see Arin quickly flick his eyes back to the road

"Oh, um...just making sure there was no beer on him,"

Holly blushed and looked down like a child who had been caught cheating on a test but Arin just laughed at the situation

"It's fine, I'm not going to tell him so you don't need to worry, and his hair is very nice,"

"It smells like strawberries, my favourite fruit,"

She smiles as she leans back down and takes another whiff, closing her eyes and resting her head on his and letting the aroma wash over her, then Arin's cough snapped her back into reality and she cleared her throat

"What are we going to do when we get him too your house?"

"Believe it or not this has happened before, we just lay him on the couch and let him wake up naturally, I think if he doesn't wake up in about an hour then we should call a doctor,"

"Yeah alright, who's we by the way?"

"Me and you Holly,"

Arin laughed but then shot her a confused look when he noticed that she wasn't laughing along

"No, you said this happened before and "we" lay him down,"

"Oh right, I meant my wife, Suzy, you'll see her when we get to my house,"

"Oh cool,"

This made Holly really nervous as she had never met a married couple her age before, she avoided them like the plague because it always made her feel sad, they were married and she didn't even have a boyfriend most of the time, but maybe these two were different, Arin seemed like a great guy and surely he didn't marry someone stupid or arrogant. The car stopped outside a large house and a woman about the same age as Holly quickly ran to the car and immediately to Arin

"Is he ok?"

"He's fine baby, this is Holly, she's a waitress at the bar,"

"Hi,"

Holly sheepishly waved and muttered a quiet hi then turned to Ross who was still leaning against her and as limp as a corpse. She pulled him out of the car and lifted him in her arms then looked to Arin to see what she should do next

"Come on, you can lay him down on the couch and have a drink, you must be worried,"

"Yeah, alright,"

She followed the couple into their warm house and followed Arin to a room with a TV and couch as Suzy went off into the kitchen

"Just place him down here and we'll let him be,"

Arin smiled and left the room to assist Suzy in the kitchen as Holly gently placed the Auzzie on the couch and looked at him happily. She looked back at the door and noticed that she was alone with him, he was out cold, nobody would have to know. She gently leant down and give him a soft kiss on his forehead then took another quick whiff of his hair and hurried to the kitchen to find the couple waiting for her with three full wine glasses. Suzy lifted one of them and handed it to Holly then signalled for her to sit down, Holly sat and nervously sipped from the glass as she looked around the spectacular kitchen

"So tell us about yourself Holly,"

Holly began with her earliest memories and soon the three were chatting away like they had known each other all their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to leave a reply with any suggestions or ideas you have, I'm always eager to try new things


	5. Chapter 5

Ross woke up with a huge pain in his head and heard laughter from around the house, wondering if he'd gone crazy he sat up and looked around to see where he was. When he realised he was at Arin's house he decided to tell them that he was going to go home, they would probably be very worried if he just vanished after bashing his head. Just as he got up he heard a someone approaching and decided to scare them, so he lay back down and closed his eyes. The door gently swung open and he heard the footsteps almost run over to him

"Ross?"

He kept a straight face as the voice became slightly louder

"Hey, Ross?"

He was ready to burst but decided to see how long he could drag this out

"Ok, nobody has to know, Arin and Suzy won't know and Ross is out cold, it'll be a secret,"

Before Ross could even process what he heard there was suddenly the feeling of warm lips on his forehead and it almost made Ross fly out of the couch but somehow he kept still and waited until the lips had pulled away before he moved. He moved around slowly and groaned to try and sound like he was just waking up

"Wha...why does my head hurt?"

"Ross you're ok! Arin, Suzy, he's waking up!"

Ross opened his eyes to see Holly smiling back at him with pure excitement, she was then quickly joined by Arin and Suzy. Suzy was the first one to talk as she leaned down to Ross and gently felt his head

"How do you feel? You hit your head at the bar,"

"I got into a fight? I don't remember that,"

"No you fell, do you feel sore?"

"Just a bit but nothing serious,"

He leaned forward to whisper to Suzy so the others wouldn't hear

"Why is Holly here?"

"She called Arin and we invited her in for a drink,"

Suzy replied with the same whispered tone as Arin leaned in to interrupt the two

"Sorry if the couch was uncomfortable, we didn't think you'd be out that long,"

"No it's fine,"

He glanced over to see Holly still smiling at him and nervously smiled back. They helped him up and he walked into the bathroom to go to the toilet as the others went back into the kitchen.

When they reached the kitchen Holly quickly grabbed Arin's arm and spoke to him with panic in her voice

"Arin I kissed his forehead and woke him up, what if he notices?"

"I doubt that he will, if you don't mention it then everything will be fine,"

"Alright,"

The kitchen door swung open and Ross hurried over to Arin like a child wanting to tell his father that he passed a school test

"Arin, I know what you did,"

"What the hell are you talking about Ross?"

"When I was asleep you kissed me, I felt it,"

Holly blushed hard and turned to talk to Suzy so she wouldn't get caught. Arin watched and turned back to Ross with confidence and a calm voice

"Why the hell would I kiss you Ross?"

"Because you looooove meeeee,"

"Not enough to kiss you,"

"Admit it, you find me adorable,"

"Ross I'm not going to say that,"

Holly was almost exploding with nervous tension as the others seemed to brush of and joke about the situation. After a few more minutes of listening to Ross' teasing she quickly excused herself, then ran out of the room and up the stairs. They all stood in silence as she left and Arin eventually turned to Ross

"Why don't you go talk to her?"

"Why me, Suzy can comfort her,"

"No, you go, we have to start dinner,"

"Ugh, fine,"

Ross walked out and gently crept up the stairs to try and find Holly. When he got to the top of the stairs he heard her crying behind a closed door that he recognised as the spare bedroom, so he slowly walked up to it and gave it a gentle knock.

"Who...who's there?"

"It's Ross, can I come in?"

"Yea,"

Ross swung the door open to find Holly sitting on the bed with her eyes bloodshot and her face red, he didn't know why she was so sad but he was sure as hell going to find out and do all he could to make her better, even if the feelings of love were only one way. He sat beside her and drummed his fingers on his leg for a while before he spoke

"Were...were you crying?"

"Yea, a bit,"

"Is everything ok? It wasn't anything that we did was it?"

"No it's not that, you got hurt because I was talking to you instead of doing my job, I feel really guilty,"

"Don't feel that way, I'm not hurt and you didn't get fired so there's no trouble,"

"I did get fired Ross,"

"You got fired because some guy hit me? How the hell is that fair?"

"It wasn't because you got hit, I left work to bring you back here with Arin,"

She looked down in shame as Ross' jaw slung open and his eyes became saucers, he was the reason that she didn't have a job, but why did she feel the need to come back to Arin's house with him

"No, don't be sad, if you get sad then I'll get sad, then I'll have to get Arin to kiss me again,"

He smiled at her but when she returned with a nervous expression he realised that it really wasn't Arin that kissed him. His eyes became wide again as he looked at her and blushed, Holly returned the blush and again looked away from him in shame

"It...it was you that kissed me? Why would you kiss me?"

"I like you,"

Her voice was practically a whisper at this point and Ross was so blinded with disbelieve that he could understand a word she said

"What?"

"I like you Ross, I mean I really like you,"

She looked at him defiantly and watched as he stuttered back in shock

"I, me to, I like you a lot,"

"Really?"

"Yea, you weren't kidding where you?"

"No, I meant it, you are so sweet and funny, how could anyone not like you?"

Ross blushed and smiled at her, making her smile and clear her eyes. She leaned forward and lightly kissed his cheek making him blush even harder, the heat and light could probably sustain a small city but neither of them seemed to mind as they stared into each other's eyes for the most blissful moment imaginable. Holly was the one to break the silence and she did so with her voice a sweet and gentle tone that made Ross feel safe

"Aren't I going to get a kiss?"

"Do, do you want one?"

"Kinda, I think you owe me one,"

"Oh...yea sure,"

Ross leaned in nervously and kissed her cheek but Holly was a lot smarter than she seemed and quickly shifted her head to make their lips meet. Ross held his eyes shut in fear of waking up from what must have been a dream, there was no way he was actually kissing this amazing and beautiful girl. After a few minutes of heaven Holly pulled away and gently whispered into Ross' ear

"I just realised that you owe me two kisses, I kissed you when you were asleep,"

Ross gulped nervously and a small whine escaped his mouth as Holly quickly kissed him again, just as passionately as the first time but it wasn't rough, it was gentle and sweet just like her. This time it was neither Holly or Ross who stopped the kiss, it was Suzy's shocked gasp as she stood at the door watching them. The kiss broke and they both looked over to Suzy who quickly rushed in and over to Ross, who was red in the face after being caught

"Ross what the hell are you doing? You can't just go kissing everyone you talk to, you're going to get yourself into big trouble if you keep doing that,"

"Suzy no, she likes me and I like her, she wanted me too. Tell her Holly!"

Suzy span to meet Holly's equally as embarrassed face and waited for a response. Holly eventually looked up at Suzy and spoke with a shaky voice

"He's right, I do like him and I did kiss him, he didn't force it on me or anything like that,"

"See! I would never do that Suzy!"

Suzy looked back at Ross and then back to Holly, she was wrecking her brain to try and make sense of the situation and eventually decided that Holly would be the more adult out of the two so she asked her a question that she didn't think she would ever say

"So...you love Ross?"

"Suzy what are you doing?"

"Ross please, Holly do you?"

"Yea, and he loves me,"

Suzy sat between the two and held her head in her hands, it was like all the air had been ripped out of her lungs and she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Ross put his arm on her shoulder after letting her breath for a while and spoke to her in a gentle yet nervous voice

"You're not mad are you Suze? It just kinda happened I didn't mean it to,"

"No, how could I be mad? It's just a lot to take in, but you two are adults and I'm not going to interfere with your lives. Do you want me to keep it a secret from Arin?"

She felt Holly grip her other shoulder lightly and turned to see a caring and loving face. Suzy knew that this was the type of girl who was not going to leave Ross over something dumb and that she was a loyal person, after all it takes a lot to give your job up for another person. She smiled back at her and Holly replied with a little more excitement in her voice

"You can tell Arin, I'm sure he'd be happy for Ross,"

"Alright, do you two want to be left alone or..."

"No we'll go downstairs now, I feel a lot better anyway,"

"Ok, let's go then,"

Suzy awkwardly left and hurried down the stairs to brief Arin as Holly got up and looked back down at Ross

"You not coming?"

"Can't we finish the kiss?"

"Later, come on,"

She held a hand out and lifted Ross up then slung her arms around his neck and smelt his hair

"What are you doing?"

"I really like your hair, it smells like strawberries and I like strawberries a lot,"

"Oh, ok, what does yours smell like?"

"You tell me?"

She pushed her hair into his face and let him sniff deeply, hearing him sniff and giggle,"

"It smells like vanilla,"

"Do you like vanilla?"

"I do now,"

He smiled as she giggled and the two went down the stairs to talk to Arin and Suzy about their new relationship. When the two got to the bottom of the stairs they heard Arin and Suzy in the kitchen, as they walked in there was a silence between the four, a silence that was finally broken by Arin after an eternity

"So...how's your head Ross?"

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore, and apparently smells like strawberries,"

He heard Holly giggle and smiled at her then at Arin, trying to communicate that there was no awkwardness between the two. Arin got the message and relaxed, walking over to Ross and easily forcing his head down then sniffing  his hair gently

"Smells more like koala bears and boomerangs to me,"

"At least try and make sense Arin, what would a boomerang even smell like?"

He pouted and turned away but just as he was walking he felt a tug around his waist and turned to have Holly gently kiss him

"Where you going?"

"Nowhere,"

They laughed as Arin walked back over to Suzy and whispered in her ear

"I think you should get talk to Holly and see what she's like, I'll take Ross out for a drink or something,"

"As if you're going to be able to separate the two,"

"Shit you're right, I'll think of something,"

"Ok, but she seems nice,"

"I know, I just don't want Ross to get his heart broken again,"


	6. Chapter 6

A few months had passed and Arin's suspicions about Holly had been destroyed, she really was the kind and sweet girl that she seemed like. She hadn't taken things any further with Ross but she loved him more than anything on earth, Ross felt the same way but he wanted to do something to show her, he wanted her to know that he was never going to leave her and that everything could get destroyed but as long as he had Holly he would be fine. He was snapped out of his trance when Arin shoved his arm and pointed to the screen

"Ross! How are we going to beat the computer if you keep staring at the ceiling like an idiot?"

"Sorry, I was thinking about...stuff,"

"You were thinking of Holly weren't you?"

"No!"

His face went red as he turned his attention to the game and guided his blue Kirby to an eventual victory. When they won he threw the controller onto the floor and looked over to Arin with a smug smile on his face

"Told you we'd win, Kirby for president!"

Arin laughed and put his controller down, switching off the console and leaving Ross alone in the room

"Where you going?"

"I'll be back in a second,"

A while later Arin returned with two cokes and set them down on the coffee table, causing Ross to jump up and grab one before quickly sinking back into the couch and opening the frosty can. He took a victory drink and sighed happily, closing his eyes and thinking more about what he was going to do for Holly. He smiled happily as he thought about her and almost didn't register Arin getting up and walking away, but his eyes sprung open and he looked over his shoulder as Arin was walking out the door

"What are you getting now?"

"I thought you were sleeping, I figured you wanted a little bit of peace,"

"It's only four pm, what age do you think I am?"

"Alright calm down grandpa, tell me more about the Korean War,"

Arin sat back down with glee and watched as Ross pouted sarcastically, leaning forward and waving his hand at the TV

"How do you get the pictures to move on the silly box?"

They both laughed and after one of the stupidest conversations imaginable they got up and went into the kitchen, when they got there they saw a halve full bottle of glass with black lipstick on the rim. Arin picked it up and examined the lipstick marks

"Suzy must have left this here from last night, not like her at all,"

Ross was completely uninterested in what Arin was saying and instead went over to the sound system to blast some tunes, knowing well that it would annoy the hell out of Arin. He sneakily plugged his phone in and turned to Arin

"What's your favourite insect?"

"My favourite insect? I don't have one, do you?"

He laughed in surprise at the ridiculous question and saw Ross curve his lips into a devilish smile before answering in a voice that almost exploded with guilt

"I do, it's the jitterbug,"

Before Arin could comprehend the sentence the fast paced, eighties sounds of Wham! filled the room. Ross started to dance and work his way slowly over to Arin, eventually reaching him and grabbing his hand, urging him to dance with him. Arin tried his best to pull away but couldn't stop laughing and eventually found himself dancing with Ross and occasionally singing along to the song

"God damn it Ross you are too much sometimes,"

"You know who doesn't think that?"

"Who Ross?"

"Holly, so bleh,"

"He stuck his tongue out at Arin and continued to dance on his own as Arin sat down to relax. After a few more awkward moves Ross hit something and stumbled backwards, looking to the direction of what he hit he saw Suzy staring at him with a wide smile on her face

"Suzy I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"It's fine, I was enjoying your little routine anyway,"

"Who wouldn't? I'm the bestest dancer in the world!"

He began to dance again as Suzy walked over to Arin and sat beside him, leaning in to whisper into his ear despite the loud music

"Is Ross drunk?"

"No he's just really happy, where have you been all day?"

"I told you I was going out today with some friends, you need to listen more,"

She smiled as Arin leant forward and gave her a gentle kiss, the kiss barley lasted a second before he pulled away and turned to Ross who had been whining like a child the entire time

"Ariiiiiiin!"

"What Ross?"

"Why won't you dance with me?"

"I'm kinda busy talking to my wife,"

Suzy giggled at his anger and watched Ross dizzily walk over to the two and sit between them, he slung his arms around them and lay back in his seat with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Arin looked over to Suzy who quickly glanced at Ross and had just about parted her lips when Arin replied

"No, he's not, he's just really happy,"

Ross bounced up from his seat and shouted with the enthusiasm of a child

"Let's have a party!"

"We aren't having a party, it's a bit late to be inviting people over don't you think?"

"Na it's never too late to party, I'll call the soon to be guests,"

He ran to his phone as Arin and Suzy laughed at his excitement, but just as he got to the phone he slid along the kitchen tiles and fell hard onto the floor he screamed on the way down and instantly went silent as he hit the ground and lay still. Suzy was the first to get up, she ran to Ross' side and propped his head up on her lap, gently tapping his face with just enough force to not leave a mark yet still get his attention

"Ross, why do you always have to fall when we are with you?"

"I'll call Holly, she can bring him back to his own house and look after him,"

"Good idea,"

She continued to try and get Ross awake as Arin dialled the number and held the phone to his face

"Hello?"

"Hey Holly, are you busy?"

"No, everything ok?"

"Ross slipped on our kitchen floor and we were wondering if you could get him back to his house and look after him, if you're too busy then that's..."

"I'll be right there!"

Holly had practically shouted down the phone with excitement and hung up without waiting for Arin to respond. She eventually made it to their door and knocked quickly, causing Arin to be slightly annoyed when he opened the door

"Jeze Holly calm down, he's fine,"

She ignored him and hurried into the kitchen to find Ross still in the comfort of Suzy's lap, he knelt down beside her and smiled at his peaceful form

"My silly little auzzie,"

Suzy smiled as Arin shut the door and came in after Holly, then helped her lift Ross and secure him in the car. The drive to Ross' house almost didn't happen in Holly's mind because the next thing she knew, she was sitting on his couch with his head on her lap and a hand playfully ruffling through his hair. After a few minutes she put his head against a pillow and got up to get herself a drink, when she came back she noticed him moving around uncomfortably and knelt down beside him

"Ugh...what happened?"

"You ran inside Arin's kitchen and slipped on an ice cube,"

She smiled as he blushed with embarrassment and hid his face behind his hands, she ran a hand through his hair, causing him to peek out from his hands to see her soft smile, making him melt on the inside. She giggled as he took his hands away and smiled back at her

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Yes, my butt is a but sore but I'm sure I'll be fine,"

"Do you need a doctor, or maybe a nurse?"

She leant into his ear and whispered so gently that Ross was unsure he had even heard her, his face went dark red as he looked back to her, she was still smiling and there was a fire in her eyes that made her seem ten times more amazing, if that was even possible

"No, I'll be fine, it's...just a bit of pain,"

He laughed nervously but went silent and stiff when Holly gently kissed him on the cheek and ran a finger up his leg. He looked back into her eyes and saw them fixed on his, causing him to shut them tight and breath heavily. Holly didn't want Ross to feel scared and instantly stopped her game, grabbing his shaking hands gently and squeezing

"Is everything ok Ross?"

"N...Yea, I'm fine,"

He still hadn't opened his eyes, Holly became worried and pulled her hands away from him, letting him normalise his breathing and calm down before talking again

"If you don't want to do...that, then that's ok,"

"I don't know what you're talking about,"

She could always tell when Ross was lying, he wasn't a great actor to begin with but there was something about his face when he lied, it went slightly more red than usual and he always looked anywhere in the room except the person he was talking to. She put her hand gently on his face and carefully spoke to him as his eyes darted around the room quick enough to make him throw up

"Yes you do, and if you're not ready then it's fine, I'll wait,"

"But then you'll hate me because I wasn't ready,"

"I'm not going to hate you just because you didn't want to have sex, it's an important thing and I don't want to pressure you,"

He looked at her with his sweet and innocent face and nervously smiled, unsure if he was about to lose the girl of his dreams

"You promise?"

"I promise, you mean to much to me to risk throwing it away,"

His smiled grew wider and he sat himself up, throwing his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug, making Holly rest her head on Ross' shoulder. He whispered into her ear as if his he was trying to keep a secret that nobody on earth could know

"Thanks Holly, I love you,"

"I love you too, let's go get some lunch,"

The two got up and grabbed the keys to Ross' car, then got in and drove off to find somewhere to eat. As the car sped along and the radio played Ross looked out the window and got lost in thought about what Holly had done. She clearly loved him enough that she wanted to do it, but she probably had needs and what if he couldn't satisfy them, then she would definitely leave him, he began to think about his surprise for her, it needed to be something so amazing so that she could see just how much he loves her, and he couldn't think of anything

"What about we go there?"

Holly pointed to the Subway in front of them as Ross continued to look out the window, he gave a slight grunt as he continued to think of ideas, Holly took this as a yes and parked the car in the car park, then turned to Ross as he gazed out the window

"Do you just want what you usually get?"

"Yea, don't be long, I'm really hungry,"

"I'll try,"

She giggled and left to get the food. As soon as the door of the car shut Ross pulled out his phone and rang Arin, he and Suzy were crazy in love so he must know the answer to Ross' situation

"Hello?"

"Hey, I need your help with something,"

"What is it?"

"I want to do something for Holly to show her that I love her but I can't think of anything,"

"Hmmmm, does she have a favourite song?"

"You want me to get her a CD? That's not very romantic,"

"I was going to suggest you sing but I guess you would never do that,"

"No, I hate singing. What if I did her some art?"

"That would be nice, you could make a giant drawing of her or something,"

Suddenly the car door opened and Holly sat back down into her seat, Ross' heart jumped as she looked at him and he tried his best to cover his tracks

"That's probably why I like milk so much,"

"What the hell are you talking about Ross?"

"Gotta go now, I'll speak to you later,"

He hung up and looked over to Holly who was smiling her beautiful smile at him, she looked back at the Subway and pointed with her finger

"The queue in there was crazy, let's go somewhere else,"

"Yea, sure,"

The car took off and soon they had arrived at another Subway, this time Holly went in and got the food, coming out a few minutes later and putting the sandwiches on one of the backseats and laughing turning the radio down so she could be heard over it

"Who were you on the phone to?"

"Just Arin, he was bored and wanted to chat,"

"You didn't have to hang up on him just because I came back, that was kinda rude,"

"That's what happens when you date a bad boy like me Holly, the rules get thrown out the window,"

He triumphantly lifted his fist and flexed his muscles as she giggled and playfully slapped him, when they got back to Ross' house they eat the food and talked about their childhoods, when they finished Holly went upstairs to change as Ross went into the lounge to watch TV. After twenty minutes of relaxing Ross began to worry as to why Holly was not back yet, he wanted to forget about it as he knew she was alright, after all it must take a while to look that pretty, but something in the back of his mind made him worry enough to go upstairs and check on her. When he got to the top of the stairs he called her name out lightly in case she had fallen asleep

"Holly?"

"I'm in here,"

He walked into his bedroom to find her sitting on the edge of his bed flicking through her phone, dressed in only her underwear. He sat beside her and put his arm over her shoulder

"I'm going to have to take that phone off you, you're always looking at it,"

"Sorry dad, Suzy wanted to know if I was busy tonight,"

"Are you two going to go out?"

He began to will himself closer to her, even though he felt extremely awkward due to her attire, or lack thereof

"She wants to, you don't mind do you?"

Just then Ross' mind exploded with realisation, maybe it was seeing her nearly naked and still gentle and caring, maybe it was the way she spoke, but he suddenly realised what he could do to show her how much he loved her, although he would have to make the first move because she still thought he wasn't ready, and he wasn't, not until he saw her sitting there with her big bright eyes looking into his very soul

"Ross? Do you mind?"

"I...I was actually thinking we could do something ourselves,"

She put the phone down and rested her head on his shoulder, lifting her hand and rubbing his soft face

"Like what?"

"Well...you remember what we were talking about earlier?"

"Yea,"

"Let's let's do it,"

"Ross if I could just become a kid again I would have done it a long time ago,"

She laughed but stopped suddenly when she felt a soft kiss on her hand, causing her to look up and into Ross' sparkling blue eyes

"I was talking about when we were on the couch, before we went out,"

"You mean..."

"Yeah, do you not want to?"

Panic suddenly filled Ross' voice as he looked away and went slightly red, but Holly quickly turned his head to meet his nearly tear filled eyes and kissed him passionate, climbing onto his lap and smiling as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She broke away from the kiss for air and looked to see a smiling and very nervous face looking back at her

"I do want to Ross, is that ok with you?"

He shook his head violently and almost felt his heart explode when she kissed him again, running a hand through his hair and reaching down to his trouser button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Squiggledreams01 for a little contribution, glad to see that you're liking my work


	7. Chapter 7

Ross opened his eyes and looked around the room, still almost blinded by the pleasure he had just experienced, he looked to his side and saw Holly peacefully sleeping, she looked just as beautiful as she always did and he couldn't resist leaning over to gently kiss her, causing her to smile and turn around, opening her eyes to Ross smiling down on her

"Hey,"

"Hi,"

She yawned as she answered and smiled as she sat up to get closer to Ross, leaning against him and gently kissing his cheek

"How...how are you?"

"I'm great, what about you?"

"I'm good too, like really good,"

She giggled and closed her eyes, smiling as she leant against him and enjoyed the silence, then the feeling of Ross leaning over her and sniffing her hair, causing him to smile and hug her tight

"I love you Holly,"

"I love you too Ross, you're the greatest guy ever,"

Ross blushed at her kind words, not as much as he used to because not one day had passed that the two hadn't showered each other with complements, but he still appreciated every word. He ran a hand through her soft hair and gently rubbed her forehead. Suddenly Holly sat up, almost breaking Ross' hand between her body and the headboard

"Oww, my hand!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just realised that I never replied to Suzy last night! She's probably going to think that I'm ignoring her!"

"Suzy would never think that, and anyway you could just tell her what happened,"

"I don't know, she seems like an impatient person deep down,"

"You're not...embarrassed are you?"

"What? Oh god no Ross, not at all, I just don't want to seem like I forgot about her,"

"But you had a good reason,"

"I know, a very good reason, you mean a lot to me Ross, don't ever think I'm embarrassed about being with you,"

She could see the pain in Ross' face when he spoke, he clearly didn't think he was enough for her and in a strange way that made her feel nice, he clearly thought highly of her but at the same time lowly of himself and that was the part that she wanted to fix

"Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do Ross, I know loads of people see you as a kid but I see you as the sweet guy that you are,"

"You think I'm sweet?"

"Duh, I don't spend time with people I hate, and I certainly never sleep with guys unless I know they are an amazing person,"

"You're so kind, I'm the luckiest guy ever,"

He smiled and hugged her close, letting her plant a kiss on his lips then smiled as she looked to the edge of the bed where her clothes from the night before had been carelessly thrown. She looked to her phone and then to Ross

"I'm going to text her and see if she wants to do anything tonight to make up for me skipping yesterday,"

"Alright, I'm going to have a shower,"

"Alright,"

She kissed him and watched his desperately reach as far as he could to try and get a pair of underwear from the floor without getting out of the bed

"Ross just get out of the bed and grab them,"

"But, I don't have any on,"

"So, you don't have to be embarrassed around me,"

He nervously slid out of the bed and quickly slipping on the underwear and making his way into the bathroom without looking to see if Holly was watching or not. Holly sent a text to Suzy and nervously waited for a reply, maybe she would be cool about it and not even bring it up, or maybe she would be really annoyed at Holly. Just as the tension almost broke her in halve, her phone buzzed, she grabbed it and quickly swiped it open to see a text form Suzy that almost made her heart melt

Suzy: Yeah I'm free tonight, I'm not annoyed at you either, Arin thinks you might be stressed out over not replying

Holly: I kinda was, but I have an excuse, I'll tell you later

Suzy: Cool, I'll text you when I'm available :)

Holly smiled at the screen and suddenly felt Ross' hands on her shoulders

"What you reading?"

"I was just texting Suzy, she isn't angry!"

"I told you she wouldn't be, anyone who can stay angry at you must be made of pure evil,"

"God damn it Ross,"

She kissed him and pulled him close for a hug, feeling his arms wrap around her and his breath against her neck made her feel like she was in heaven. When she finally let him go she got up and got changed for the day ahead, she looked in the mirror and ran a hand through her hair, wondering about how she could change it. Maybe she could get Suzy to help her dye it darker, or maybe she could go pink. Her train of thought was suddenly derailed when she heard Ross shouting up the stairs like an impatient father

"Holly! You almost ready?"

"Yea, I'll just be a minute,"

"Alright,"

Ross waited patiently for her and eventually she came down the stairs fully dressed and ready to go out. As the car drove away Ross looked out onto the freeway with a smile on his face, Holly noticed and started to wonder what he could possibly be thinking

"Why are you so happy?"

"What do you mean? I have the greatest girlfriend ever, why wouldn't I be happy?"

"I swear Ross, you have to stop being so sweet, let's get some lunch there?"

Holly pointed to a small bar and watched as Ross almost vomited when he looked over, he quickly turned to her in shock and tried to not sound to nervous about the situation

"But, but that's a bar, why don't we go to a restaurant or something?"

"Were only getting some lunch, I'm sure the bar can make you a glass of milk of that's why you're worried,"

Ross looked to the bar and then back to Holly, it almost seemed like she didn't recognise the place and for a second he didn't want to remind her but he decided he should bite the bullet instead of possibly having any problems inside

"That's the bar we met in Holly,"

"Yea, so?"

"Didn't you get fired from there?"

"I'm still allowed into the place,"

"But what if the boss sees you and gets annoyed?"

Holly laughed at how defensive and childish Ross was being, it wasn't uncommon for Ross to hide his true innocent self but it was very rare to see him being so scared over a situation that really didn't have a lot danger about it

"Ross he's not allowed to do anything, we'll be fine,"

"Ok,"

His voice was still shaky and uncertain, but when Holly kissed him and gently patted his leg he calmed down a little and her gentle voice always did help when he was stressed

"Come on,"

They got out of the car and went into the bar, sitting at the table closest to the door, they immediately started to chat between themselves when a waiter came over to them to ask if they wanted anything

"May I help you two?"

"Yeah, do you do any food in here?"

"Yes, here's a menu,"

The man handed Holly a menu and left to let the two decide. Holly looked through deciding what she wanted while Ross kept his eyes glued to his phone, hoping that nobody in the bar would recognise him or Holly, the second someone did he was ready to get up and leave

"Here,"

Holly passed him the menu after deciding what she wanted and watched him quickly scan up and down the menu before almost throwing it back at her

"I'll just have a coke, I'm not really that hungry,"

"Ross you can order something, there's not going to be any trouble,"

Her voice was just as calming and nurturing as usual but it wasn't having the effect on Ross that it usually did. He shut his eyes and tried to calm himself down, he took deep and slow breaths, counted internally to ten, then opened his eyes to Holly's face but he was still ready to explode and Holly noticed this, she took his hand in hers and squeezed gently to try and bring him back to earth

"Ross we can go if you want to,"

"No, you'll hate me,"

"If you think I'm going to hate you for wanting to go to a different restaurant then you really don't know me at all,"

He saw her smile and began to feel his heart get lighter, it was crazy that Holly had the ability to make him feel like he was a feather when he was ready to sink, anytime that he felt like he was about to throw up she was always there to stop the pain and  make him feel a hundred times better. As she softly let go of his hands and grabbed her bag Ross suddenly felt himself at calm with the situation. Holly grabbed her bag and stood up, then walked over to Ross' side and looked down at him

"Come on, this place is depressing as hell anyway,"

He smiled and got up, followed her to the car and drove them off to find somewhere else. When they finally got their food and got back to his house Ross suddenly had an idea that must be prove that he was crazy. He loved spending time with Holly more than anything in the world and the two of them were clearly madly in love, the only problem with their relationship was that most days he had to wait to see her as she was very rarely able to see him in the morning, but that wouldn't be a problem if they lived together. He heard her curse and watched as she whipped a drop of spilled sauces from her sandwich of her shirt

"I hope that doesn't leave a stain,"

"Holly can I ask you something?"

"Yea, what's up?"

She continued eating as she watched Ross go slightly red and avoid direct eye contact with her

"You...you love me right?"

"Yea, why?"

"Well...do you like spending time with me?"

"Yea, is this going somewhere Ross?"

Ross looked to the floor and started to summon all the courage he could, after a few seconds of silence he looked up to Holly's soft brown eyes and almost choked as the words came out

"Why don't you live with me?"

He hid his face in his hands the second the words left his mouth, of all the ways he could have asked that's the way he decided to do it? Holly almost chocked on her drink and immediate leapt forward to hug Ross, holding him tight and almost screaming her answer back at him

"Yes, I'll move in with you!"

Ross threw his arms around her and almost died with happiness as she held him tighter than he thought was humanly possible

"Really? You want to live with me?"

"Yea, I've wanted to for ages but I didn't want to ask you in case you didn't want to,"

"Oh my god that's amazing, we're going to live together,"

Holly screamed with excitement as Ross kissed her and held her head to his chest, sniffing her vanilla hair and gently rubbing her back with his still shaky hand. After letting her nerves calm down Holly looked up at Ross and gently pulled at his shirt to get him to look down

"We're going to have to move my stuff tomorrow because I promised Suzy we would do something tonight and I can't leave her another day,"

"That's ok, I still can't believe that I'm going to get to wake up to you every morning,"

"I know what you mean, It's so exciting!"

She let go of him and went back to her seat to grab her phone, Ross watched and before Holly could make the screen light up he spoke up

"No, don't tell anyone!"

"What, why?"

"I want to tell Arin and Suzy first, they can help us with all the moving,"

"Alright, hurry up and tell them because Suzy and I will probably be talking about it all night,"

"Ok, give me a second,"

He excitedly grabbed his phone and unlocked it, almost bouncing out of his seat with excitement as Arin answered in a sleepy voice

"Hello?"

"Arin, you'll never guess what's just happened!"

"Jesus Ross stop being so loud, I'm only awake,"

"How are you only awake, it's like two PM,"

"Never mind about that, what happened?"

"Holly is going to move in with me!"

"That's nice, is that everything?"

Ross could hear the anger and frustration in Arin's voice when he replied, usually Arin would be supper happy for Ross and would make him feel like a kid with the pure happiness that he could put into a situation, but this time Arin was pissed and clearly didn't care about the news

"Is everything ok Arin?"

"Everything's fine, I'll speak to you later,"

He hung up without explanation, causing Ross to look at Holly with a look of genuine sadness on his face. Holly immediately recognised the expression and grabbed Ross' hand tight

"What's wrong?"

"He seems really pissed off and annoyed, he's usually a lot happier than that,"

"Maybe he was just tired from staying up really late or something,"

"Yea you're probably right, it's not going to be anything serious,"

"I think he's tell you if it was, you guys are like brothers,"

"Yea, good point,"

Holly kissed him and got up to get washed for her night out with Suzy, Ross wasn't sad that he would have the house to himself because it meant he could watch TV or blast music super loud without anyone telling him what to do. As Holly went upstairs Ross started to wonder what could possibly have Arin so down, he decided that he would see if Arin wanted to do something tonight because the girls would be busy, but he would have to wait a few hours to call him as he didn't want to annoy him anymore.


	8. Chapter 8

Holly gave Ross a soft kiss as she left to meet up with Suzy, she look fantastic as usual and just as she was arriving at the bar they had scheduled to meet at, her phone buzzed. She took it out to see a text from Suzy

Suzy: Change of plan, just come over here, I got drinks and stuff

Holly: You sure? I'm at the place and I don't mind waiting

Suzy: I'm not ready yet, just come here

Holly: OK

After a long journey in a cab, Holly finally made it to Suzy's house and knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door flung open and Suzy met her in her pyjamas, tears clouding her eyes and makeup streaking down her face. Holly gasped at the site and let herself in quickly, closing the door and putting her arm around the clearly broken girl

"Suzy what's wrong?"                  

"Arin and I had a fight, he stormed off and left me here,"

As soon as the worlds weakly tumbled from Suzy's mouth tears followed, she grabbed Holly tight and hugged her like her life depended on it. Holly returned the hug and gently patted Suzy's soft hair, talking gently to her and trying to stop the hysterical cries coming from her mouth

"It's ok Suzy, it's just a little bump, everyone goes through it,"

"Really? Have you and Ross went through one?"

Holly didn't answer and instead continued to pat Suzy's hair and be the best friend she could be, after a while the two girls went to the couch, Suzy tried to choke down the sobs as best she could but as it became clear they would not stop Holly got up to get her some tissues

"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere,"

"Ok,"

Holly left to get the tissues, leaving Suzy alone with nothing to do. She looked over to her phone and decided that she would call someone to help her out. She looked through the list and eventually decided on Ross, she didn't know why it seemed like such a good idea as Arin was probably over there right now, but it was better than nothing. She rang the number and  tried to sound happy as a cherry Ross answered

"Hey Suze,"

"Hey Ross, are you with Arin?"

"No, why?"

"We had a fight and I was wondering if he went over to you,"

"You had a fight? You must feel horrible,"

"I'm doing fine, I just wish I knew where he was,"

"I'll be right over Suzy, I can't let you be alone all night,"

"No Holly's here with me, I just wanted to know if he was with you or not,"

"I have no idea, I'll try and find him and call you the second I do,"

"Thanks, bye,"

"Bye,"

Suzy quickly hung up and put the phone back on the table as she waited for Holly to return with the tissues. Eventually Holly came back with a blanket and a few drinks, she placed the blanket over Suzy and placed the drinks on the table beside her, then got under the blankets and smiled towards her

"Hope this is comfortable,"

"This is great, thanks Holly,"

Suzy smiled for the first time in what felt like weeks to her and got herself warm as Holly put on a movie for the two of them to watch. While the movie played Suzy began to feel like there were no problems at all in her life, but just as suddenly as the bliss had come it was interrupted by a loud and fast knocking on the door. Holly sprang up and ran to the door to see if it was Arin, she quickly realised it was Ross and ran back to Suzy to get a key

"It's Ross, where's the key?"

"Here,"

Suzy threw her the key and Holly ran to the door to open it, immediately hugging Ross as he entered and made his way to Suzy

"Ross, what are you doing here?"

"I need to speak to Suzy, where is she?"

"She's in here,"

Holly brought Ross into Suzy and paused the movie as he took a seat beside her. Suzy sat up with hope in her eyes that Ross had good news, but she knew when he hesitated and stared back at her with a look of pain on his face that it wasn't

"Did you find him?"

"He's ok, he went over to a friend's place to calm himself down, but I don't know what friend and when he'll be back,"

"But he's ok?"

"He's just fine Suzy,"

Suzy leapt forward and grabbed Ross with a warming hug, smiling and laughing as she realised that her worst nightmare had not been realised, she could talk to Arin and hopefully they could resolve what happened. Ross began to laugh as Suzy stayed clung to him with a happy smile on her face

"Suzy, you can let go now,"

"Oh, sorry,"

She let him go and sat back down on the couch, covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes, still smiling in peaceful bliss, Holly and Ross watched on as she drifted to sleep with the thought of Arin on her mind. As she slipped into what looked to be the most peaceful sleep imaginable Holly turned to Ross and put her arms around his neck, smiling as she pulled herself towards him and kissed him

"Why don't we leave her and go back home?"

"Are you sure, what if she wakes up and needs us?"

"Ross you are such a good friend to her, she'll be fine, come on,"

"Are you sure?"

"Why would I ever want to put her in danger? Let's go home and try to find Arin,"

"Do you think he'll pick up if I try to ring him?"

"What if I tried?"

"Good idea,"

Holly grabbed her phone and called Arin, after a few rings she heard a rough voice answer, one that sounded like it had been beaten within an inch of its life

"Hello?"

"Arin?"

"Yea?"

"Where are you, we've all been worried sick!"

"I'm just at a friend's house, I'm ok, just tired,"

"You need to get back here and talk to Suzy, she's so upset,"

"I appreciate you looking out for the two of us but I really don't think I'm ready to talk to her again,"

"Arin please just..."

Holly was interrupted by Ross snatching the phone out of her hand and shouting down it just loud enough to show his anger while not waking up Suzy

"Arin get down here and comfort your wife, otherwise you're going to lose her and believe me you do not want that!"

Arin waited a few seconds and took a few deep breaths before he shouted turned away from the phone to talk to the tall man who had let him into his house

"Dan I think I'm going to go home to talk to her,"

"That's great dude, you two are a great couple,"

Arin turned his attention back to the phone and softly replied as he tried to sound like he wasn't on the verge of crying

"I'm coming over now, just keep her calm,"

"Alright, bye,"

Ross hung up and gave the phone back to Holly

"He's on his way,"

 "Why did you have to shout at him?"

Holly was furious at Ross, Arin was probably so emotional over the entire thing that the last thing he needed was his closest friend shouting at him like he was a child. She snapped the phone out of his hand and pushed it into her pockets, then looked him straight in the face and spoke with an authoritative tone. Ross looked back with a slight bit of fear in his eyes, but tried to keep his ground and show Holly that he was not a child

"He's risking his relationship with Suzy, he's never going to find someone like her again,"

"What do you mean 'someone like her'?"

"You know what I mean, she's funny and smart and beautiful and she gets him, they are the most perfect couple ever and we can't let them throw that away,"

"You think she's beautiful?"

"Yea, you don't?"

"I don't think about how hot my friend's partners are,"

"Holly you know I didn't mean it that way, she's beautiful but I wouldn't leave you for anyone, you're the one that matters to me, I just want to help Arin,"

Holly looked away from Ross to think to herself for a second, so much was happening in such a short period of time that it almost hurt, she could swear she heard her skull cracking apart and just as it was about to implode a soft hand held her shoulder

"Arin stood by me and helped me when nobody else would, I have to help him,"

She wanted to leave and think about the situation more, but Ross was right and she couldn't argue that. She turned and opened her arms for Ross to hug her, he did and immediately kissed her, holding her tight enough that she thought her waist would snap

"I'm sorry, I know how close you and Arin are and we should help them,"

"It's ok, you don't have to apologise, I understand why you would be angry,"

"Why don't we go wait in the hallway for him?"

"Good idea,"

The two walked into the hallway to wait for Arin, it was only five minutes until he was banging on the door but it felt so much longer to Holly and Ross. Holly swung the door open and stood defiantly in the doorway to make sure Arin didn't shove right through her and run to Suzy

"Let me see her Holly,"

"You need to calm down first, I won't let you see her if you're angry,"

Arin took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down, he realised that id he was angry when he talked to her then he would shout, causing her to shout and making the problem a lot worse than it needs to be. Holly was impressed to see Arin making an effort, he clearly wanted to fix the problem and was going to do whatever he could to make Suzy feel better

"Alright, can I please go in?"

"Sure, she's in there,"

Holly pointed to the room and moved out of the way to let Arin in, she then grabbed Ross' arm and began to pull him out of the house

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"We have to give them space, let's go home, we can start moving my stuff,"

"Are you sure?"

"If we had a fight would you want Arin and Suzy hearing the whole thing?"

"I guess not,"

Holly pulled at his arm and the two went back to the car, hopped in and sped off towards their now shared house. Arin slowly walked into the room he was directed to and found Suzy peacefully sleeping on the couch, he sat down beside her and admired her innocent and peaceful face before he gently placed an arm around her to make her feel loved, even if she was asleep. The feeling of Arin's arm made Suzy stir and when she turned around to see the loving face of her husband she looked back in confusion

"Arin? What are you doing here?"

"I live here silly,"

His voice was calm and peaceful, as if he couldn't remember what had happened between the two of them, as if her didn't storm off and leave the girl he loved in tears

"You came back for me?"

Suzy spoke with the most hope Arin had ever heard from a human being, it was as if she was a child and had heard bells on Christmas eve, but he was still unsure as to how she had taken the situation, they had had a few fights before but it had never escalated to one of them walking out. Arin decided that they would be better off if the fight never happened and tried his best to keep his voice steady as he spoke

"What are you talking about? When did I leave?"

"After your fight, you walked out,"

The look of confusion on Suzy's face grew to an unimaginable amount, making Arin feel ready to throw up, but still he powered on

"We never had a fight, you must have had a bad dream baby,"

"Are you sure? But Holly was here, so was Ross!"

Suzy sat up suddenly, almost head butting Arin to the ground. He grabbed her shoulders and stopped her before she fell over, looking into her bright green eyes and deciding that he had to tell her the truth, after all what good was a relationship built on lies

"Wow calm down, ok we had a fight, but I'm so, so sorry that I walked away, I just got so stressed out,"

"It wasn't a dream?"

"No, but I never meant for it to happen. Do...do you forgive me?"

"You made me feel horrible, and you left me in tears,"

Suzy pushed his hands of her and fell back into the couch, looking away to try and stop herself from breaking into tears. Arin could almost feel the explosion of his heart and looked down at his wife who he loved more than life itself, he gently put his hand on her leg and began to rub it gently, speaking in a calming voice

"Suzy when I met you a lot of my friends made fun of me because you were only thirteen, but I never listened to them and I kept talking to you. Then when we fell in love with each other I felt like I could never be happy, but you married me and it turns out I was wrong. You know that I would never mean to hurt you, you mean to much to me,"

Suzy waited for a while to process what Arin had said, then she slowly turned herself around to look up at him with tears in her eyes

"They made fun of you?"

"Yea,"

"And you still stayed with me?"

"I haven't talked to them in years, I figured that they aren't true friends if they are going to mock the girl I love,"

"How come you never told me that?"

"Because I knew it would hurt you, I really am sorry Suze,"

"Come here,"

She opened her arms and smiled as he hugged her, giggling happily as they kissed and lay beside each other in happiness. After a while of peaceful silence Suzy looked up from where she was resting on Arin's chest

"Hey Arin, Holly and Ross are gone right?"

"Yea, why?"

"That means we're alone,"

Arin looked down and smiled as she lent forward to kiss him, gasping with pleasure as his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close.


	9. Chapter 9

Holly practically kicked her front door in as she sprinted inside to pack het things, Ross followed behind her almost and stopped in the hallway to catch his breath, causing Holly to run up to him and tug his arm like a bored child at the zoo

"Come on Ross, we need to pack it all now!"

"Holly calm down, we'll get it all done just let me catch my breath,"

"We won't get it done sitting around like a statue,"

"Fine, where should we start?"

"The kitchen!"

Holly ran off to the kitchen and was quickly followed by Ross, when he finally got into the room he found Holly already clearing shelves and cupboards onto the floor, huge piles of cutlery, the toaster, the breadboard, just about anything that wasn't nailed in was on the floor in a matter of minutes. Ross tried carefully to pick up the supplies, dodging the newer ones that flew his way as he did. It didn't tale Holly long to look at her pile and smile, then rush into a different room to repeat the whole process, before it looked like a bomb had hit every room. When the two finally got everything into boxes and at the door, Ross collapsed onto the floor with a loud sigh.

"How the hell do you have so much energy?"

"I'm excited, we're going to be living together!"

"Yea I'm excited too but you were running around like a crazy person,"

"I'm sorry, you want to load it all into the car and go home?"

She smiled as she said this, a warm and natural smile that made her feel brilliant inside, they lived in the same house now and she knew that it was going to be one of the best experiences ever, Holly couldn't remember the last time she was this excited over anything

"Yea, let's,"

The couple walked outside with the boxes, loading them carefully into the car to maximise the storage space of the relatively small trunk and back seats, but everything fit and soon they arrived at the house, Holly bounced in her seat the whole way like a dog going to the park, Ross just laughed at her childish glee and smiled happily as the boxes were moved into the house and set in the hallway, creating a huge pile of boxes with many things sticking out from them creating a hazard for anyone who would walk through the house. After hours of opening and sorting, the new house was just about done, with only the positioning of a few nerdy things to be decided but it was liveable. Holly sat on the couch with her tea as Ross lay beside her with his eyes closed, Holly nudged him slightly

"Ross?"

She didn't get an answer and instead of trying to wake him just looked at him and smiled, even when he was exhausted and probably sore from moving all her stuff he still looked like an angel when he slept. After a while she tried to wake him again by leaning down to his ear and gently talking as she shook him

"Ross, look a koala bear!"

"I've seen koalas before, let me sleep,"

"Oh my god I didn't even realise kangaroos could jump that high, look!"

Ross grunted and lifted his arms into the air to try and grab Holly, when he found her he wrapped his arms around the back of her neck and pulled her close for a hug, Holly complied and hugged Ross as they lay on the couch together

"Holly?"

Holly looked over to see Ross with his eyes still closed and a sweet smile on his face

"Yes Ross,"

"Was there really a koala?"

"Yea, didn't you know that koalas love hanging out in LA? Even they have to have vacations,"

"How does a koala go on vacation?"

Ross heard Holly try to hold back her laughter at Ross' accent when he said vacation, he was used to her smile and laughter and she was probably the only person on earth who he didn't mind laughing at it because if she was happy then he was happy. Holly coughed and cleared her throat before she replied to Ross' question

"They have to buy their tickets online because they can't reach the counter if they go to the airport, and when they get to security the FDA agent has to pat them down but they like that part,"

"No they don't, koalas pee on you if you pet them too much,"

"Are you drunk Ross?"

"Vacation,"

"Stop it,"

Holly broke and began to laugh loudly, causing Ross to laugh and hug her tight in happiness, he kissed her and held her as the two lay in peace, eventually Holly spoke in a sleepy voice, as if she was on the verge of collapsing

"Ross, you should call Arin and see if they are ok,"

"No, Ross doesn't want to open his eyes,"

"Here,"

Holly reached for her phone and typed Arin's number, then pressed ring and held it to Ross' ear, smiling at her triumph and resting her head back on Ross' chest as he waited for a reply from the other side of the phone

"Hey Arin,"

"Hey Ross, what's up,"

"You sound happy, Holly he's happy!"

Holly chuckled at Ross' stoner mood and gently kissed him before getting up to move some of her more prized possessions

"Ross are you drunk?"

"No I'm really really sleepy, we moved all of Holly's stuff into my...our house,"

Ross smiled as he said this, it was probably going to take some time to refer to it as their house but all that mattered was that they were together

"That's great, I think I know what the next step for your relationship is,"

Ross sat up and sprung his eyes open in shock, he looked around to make sure Holly would not hear him and clutched the phone tight to his ear, almost whispering down it to Arin

"Shut up, we aren't getting married any time soon,"

"Wow chill Ross, I didn't mean that, I know how big of a step that is with someone,"

"Well then what did you mean?"

"I tell you what, why don't you both come over tonight, I think he owe you one for helping me and Suzy out,"

"How did we do that?"

"Remember when you shouted down the phone and basically ordered me back home, it worked and we are all better now,"

"That's good to hear, Holly and I will be over in a few hours,"

"See you then,"

"Bye,"

Ross hung up and put the phone back down on the table, what could Arin possibly be talking about? What was the step after moving in but before marriage? Questions like this always annoyed Ross, no matter what happened in his life it always seemed like his childish nature would hold him back, especially when it came to relationships, maybe it was his fault for not really trying when he was a kid, everyone always considered him the weird outsider from Australia and that always hurt his self confidence, but Holly changed all that and made him feel good about himself again, especially about love after that other bitch made him feel like he was nothing

"Ahhh!"

Ross snapped out of his daze to hear Holly screaming from upstairs, fearing something horrible had happened to her he quickly sprinted up the stairs to find her alone in his bedroom, he ran to her and put his hand on her shoulder

"Holly what's wrong, are you ok?"

Holly turned with a gleeful look on her face and pointed to the sleeping ball of black fluff that was resting on the shelving

"When did you get a cat?"

"How have you never seen him before? He is always wondering around the house,"

"He's so cute, does he have a name?"

"He's called Orph, don't get to close to him because he doesn't like strangers disturbing him,"

"He is so adorable, where does he sleep?"

"Where ever he damn pleases,"

Ross smiled a goofy smile as Holly laughed and continued to examine the peaceful kitty, reaching her hand out to pet him and then pulling it back so as not to wake him. She turned to Ross and smiled as she continued to unpack and position some of her things around the room, occasionally looking over to Ross for advice on positioning. Ross continued to think about what Arin had said, as far as he knew the major milestones in a relationship where first kiss, then sleeping together, then moving in with each other, then marriage, what could he possibly be missing. Holly noticed that Ross was lost in his own world and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind him, pulling him close and resting her head on his shoulder

"What you thinking about?"

"N...nothing, why?"

"Come on, tell me,"

"It's not important, just silly stuff,"

Ross smiled weakly as he tried to change the conversation, but he should have know that Holly was going to find out what he was thinking sooner or later

"Yay, I like silly things,"

"Holly it's really nothing, let's just leave it,"

"Is everything ok with you?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Of course, if your upset I want to make you feel better,"

She smiled happily and ran a hand softly through his hair, rubbing gently to make herself feel as trustworthy as possible

"It's probably nothing but it's just something Arin said while I was on the phone,"

"Is it about him and Suzy?"

"No,"

"Him and you?"

"No, it's about us,"

Ross felt the blush hit his cheeks when he realised how dumb he must be right now, why on earth would he tell his girlfriend that he was talking about them to someone else, that stuff was meant to stay between them right? Then again Arin and Suzy always talked about stuff in front of him. Ross felt the blush lessen as Holly ran a hand gently over his cheek, almost as if she was rubbing the blush of his face and replacing it with an optimistic and warm wave

"What about us? Don't be embarrassed,"

"It's just that...he thinks we are a perfect match,"

Ross held his breath as Holly kept rubbing his face gently, smiling happily at the kind words that Arin had said about them

"That's so sweet of him, tell him I'm glad he thinks that,"

"I will, oh and they invited us over tonight,"

"God dammit Ross you couldn't have opened with that, I'm going to need to go get ready,"

"Sorry, I don't think you need to get ready anyway, you look fine,"

"Awww thanks, but I need to take a shower and get dressed into something that looks a bit better than this,"

"Alright, I'll wait here,"

"Ross you can go watch TV or something, it's not like I need you to help me or anything,"

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right,"

Ross walked over to the shelf and picked up the still sleeping Orph then headed for the stairs, turning to Holly just as he got to the top

"Don't be too long,"

"I won't,"

Ross went down the stairs and sat on the couch gently running his hand over Orph as he tried to calm himself down. Holly probably saw right though him and read him like a book but at least she didn't push him to say it, Ross feared that even saying the word marriage to her would scare her away and there was nothing he would hate more than to see Holly leave, even before she moved in the worst part of his day was saying goodbye to her, he couldn't imagine never seeing her again. Orph began to move around in his lap and jumped from his grasp onto the floor, wandering off to some hiding place in the house to catch up on his sleep. Ross waited for Holly to be finished and eventually he heard her coming down the stairs, he looked round to see her looking as beautiful as ever

"Wow you look nice,"

"Suzy always said I should try a little makeup, not in a mean way or anything,"

"I think you look nice without makeup too, are you ready to go?"

"Yea, what are you going to do about Orph?"

"He's fine, I always leave him here, he's a big boy,"

Holly giggled as Ross picked up his phone to call Arin and let him know they were on their way, when Arin replied Ross locked the phone and out it into his pocket, then pointed to the car

"Their ready for us,"

"Yay,"


	10. Chapter 10

Holly knocked on the door to the Hanson house and smiled excitedly at Ross, who tried his best to smile back and put the thought of Arin's conversation into the back of his head. When the door swung open Suzy squealed with delight as she noticed the makeup on Holly, they quickly started to talk about the infinite possibilities as Ross mumbled a greeting to Suzy and went in search for Arin, finding him in the kitchen setting glasses onto the table to accompany the wine. Ross closed the door behind him and went close enough to Arin that he was nearly kissing him, making Arin look back with a slight hint of fright in his face

"Everything ok there Ross?"

"What were you talking about?"

"What?"

"On the phone, what's the next step in our relationship that you were talking about?"

"Really Ross, you don't know?"

"Arin I'm not kidding here, tell me what you were talking about, if it wasn't marriage then what was it?"

"Ok calm down, take a seat,"

Ross sat down and glared back at Arin with a determined look on his face, the kind of look he had the time he was trying to gather the courage up to talk to Holly. Arin sat beside him and poured himself a drink then looked at Ross with a happy smile, almost like he was enjoying torturing Ross this way

"Well Ross, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they get into bed together and they make love, they usually do this after the first kiss but before marriage, although some people wait until after marriage,"

Ross look back at Arin with a look of disbelieve on his face, all the worry and fear he had been felling was for nothing, Holly just hadn't told Suzy so they didn't know. He cleared his throat and looked back at Arin while trying to keep determined

"That...that's it? That's what you were talking about?"

"Yea, why are you so surprised?"

"No I know what sex is, it's just..."

Ross' face turned dark red, making Arin smile widely and chuckle to himself, he placed a hand on Ross' shoulder and spoke in a gentle and low voice

"Don't worry Ross, you'll get there one day, she really likes you,"

"We...we already did,"

"What!"

"Shhhh, I don't know if Holly has told Suzy yet, I was worried there was a step I wasn't missing but if you were talking about sex then I feel a lot better,"

"I can't believe that, that's great news dude. I told you that you'd find someone who loved you sooner or later,"

"I'm just glad that it was sooner,"

The kitchen door swung open and Holly walked in followed closely by Suzy, still talking about the different ways that makeup could highlight the different features of a person, Holly stopped and blushed slightly as she looked at Arin who was smiling back at her appreciatively 

"Sweetie, doesn't Holly look great!"

Suzy's voice was so high pitched that it almost shattered Arin's glass

"You look really nice, was this your doing?"

H e pointed accusingly to Suzy who giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. Holly sat beside a still slightly blushing Ross and kissed him lightly, then whispered into his ear as Arin and Suzy began to prepare food for the four of them

"You ok, you seem kinds nervous or something,"

"I'm fine, you look nice by the way,"

"Really, nobody said,"

She smiled warmly at Ross who darted his eyes over to Arin, then to Suzy and finally back to Holly. The heat in his face grew as she smiled at him with an innocent look on her face, completely unaware of the rush of emotions and thoughts that had blasted through his brain. Eventually he was saved from his near breakdown when Suzy sat down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder

"Ross? What do you think?"

"Huh, of what?"

"God Ross you never listen do you? Arin reckons you're a very good singer, is he right?"

"Arin! What the hell man!"

"Wow what's wrong?"

He turned to Suzy with a sheepish look on his face, the one thing that Ross hated more than people talking about his accent was people talking about him singing, or anything to do with him and music for that matter. Ross liked listening to music and dancing along but he didn't have very good rhythm and his singing voice wasn't the best in the world. He felt the heat rush to his face again as he looked up at Suzy

"Arin knows that I'm a bad singer, he's just trying to get me to sing to embarrass myself,"

"I think you're a good singer,"

Holly words were like a cushion to him as she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug from behind, resting her head on his shoulder and smiling at his embarrassment. Ross smiled at the feeling of her arms around him and turned his head slightly to kiss her, then he turned to Arin and stuck his tongue out

"See, she likes my singing, so there,"

"Really Holly? You like the way Ross sings?"

"Yea, it's nice, probably his adorable accent,"

She smiled as Ross giggled and look down to hide his blush at her kind words. Arin walked over and sat beside her, leaning in to talk in a voice that was just high enough for both Ross and Holly to hear

"But he only ever sings in the shower, you must have been really close to hear him huh?"

Holly laughed at the accusation but Ross blushed even harder and continued to look at the ground, trying to stare a hole through it so he could escape whatever was going to come next from the smug face of Arin. Much to Ross' surprise Holly spoke in the same hushed tone as she leant forward to Arin

"I guess that means you've been in the shower with my boyfriend then, cause you've clearly heard it,"

Arin went bright red at the realisation of his mistake, Holly smiled triumphantly as Ross looked up and smiled the hugged her tight and pointed accusingly at Arin with a wide smile on his face

"Arin watches men in the shower!"

"Ok hahaha, let's talk about something else shall we?"

"I had a feeling you liked me that way,"

"God damn it I wish I never brought it up,"

Arin got up and continued to make the food as Holly and Ross laughed and talked to each other. After a while Suzy walked over to Arin and whispered into his ear, making sure that Holly and Ross weren't paying attention to her

"They aren't going to be here late are they?"

Arin looked back at her with a shocked expression on his face, how could his usually lovely and caring wife be annoyed at them being here, he leant down to meet her face and whispered back to her as quietly as he could while feeling the anger build inside him

"They might be, why?"

"I was shopping last week and I bought something that I think you're going to like,"

"Suzy we can't kick out our closest friends because you bought a new dress, you know that I love oyu but that's just plain rude,"

Suzy held a bad up to him and opened it slightly, revealing a nurse hat and uniform. Arin took one look at the contents and closed the bag with his hands, looking back up to Suzy to see a naughty smile forming on her lips

"Suzy what the hell, they are right there?"

He grabbed the bag from her hands and hurried up the stairs to hide it as she giggled and turned to Holly and Ross, who were both staring back at her with slightly shocked looks. Holly smiled slightly as she spoke and idly ran a hand over Ross' leg

"Suzy, is that what I think it is?"

"Maybe, I liked your idea so I just wanted to see what Arin thinks, turns out he likes it,"

The two girls laughed and turned their attention to Ross who was still very confused with the whole situation, he looked to Holly and then to Suzy, desperate for one of them to tell him what was happening. When neither of them answered he began to think about the branding on the bad, it was just a supermarket bag, it couldn't be anything crazy, as he thought Holly leaned in and whispered into his ear

"It's an outfit for Suzy to wear silly,"

Suzy blushed as she knew what Holly was saying, Ross' eyes lit up and he looked excitedly to Suzy, almost bouncing out of his seat with energy

"Suzy's getting into cosplay? Who is it?"

The two girls laughed at his innocence as Holly pulled him back slightly and whispered into his ear again

"It's not for cosplay, it's for private use,"

She nudged him slightly as she finished the sentence and watched Ross' eyes widen as it dawned on him. Suzy's blush almost made her makeup run as she looked at Ross who was staring at her with a look she had never seen on him before, it was like he was thinking intensely about her and when her eyes darted to Holly for help she got nothing back as Holly was busy holding on to Ross like a child with a huge grin on her face. Just as Ross opened his mouth to ask what the costume was Arin walked back in and looked around at the strange scene in front of him. He took Suzy's hand in his own and looked at her sympathetically

"You ok babe? You look...off,"

"I'm fine, we were just talking about some stuff and my mind started to wonder,"

"Alright, Ross what are you doing?"

Ross' expression hadn't changed as Arin had entered and instead of giving an answer, he simply turned to Holly who had a slight blush on her face in fear of being caught by Arin, but instead she laughed and pushed Ross playfully

"He's doing an impression of Mick Jagger, isn't it good?"

"I guess, I don't really know what he's like,"

"Trust me it is, ok Ross that's enough,"

She patted Ross shoulder and pulled him in for a kiss to wipe the expression of his face, replacing it with a slight blush and shyer look. Ross never knew why he was embarrassed to kiss Holly in public, he was never to scared that he didn't do it but every time their lips met he felt so strange, still it was probably the most amazing feeling in the world when it was over. Ross looked over to Arin and Suzy and smiled weakly as Holly got up to go to the bathroom

"So...what are you guys making?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might seem like a shorter and pointless chapter but just bear with me on this one, I'm going somewhere with it, I swear. Also I have a twitter now cause why not, if you're interested in following check me out at @officialreidyo


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sad to do this on Christmas but I might be ending this work soon, or at least putting it on hiatus for a while. It's been a blast entertaining you all and I'll do my best to keep the updates regular until such a time that the work get's stale, but until then, enjoy.

After going the whole night without an answer from Holly or Suzy, Ross began to get slightly more aggravated than he should have about the situation, it was really weird that he would be annoyed over such a trivial thing, Suzy probably wanted privacy and he should respect that but part of him just wanted to know what it was in that bag. While the four were all chatting away and laughing Ross stood up and excused himself to go to the bathroom, but just as he left he sent a text to Arin

Ross: Come upstairs, don't tell them

Arin: No

Ross: It's really important, please just do it

Ross waited a few minutes to see if Arin would respond or if he could hear him coming up the stairs, just as he was about to give up and  go back down he heard footsteps and looked to the stairs to see Arin staring back at him

"What is it Ross?"

"That bag, what was in it?"

"It's something private, you don't need to know,"

"Holly told me it's a costume, for personal use. I won't judge you or Suze, I just want to know,"

"What! Why does Holly know what it is?"

"It was her idea, she told Suzy to buy it,"

"So Holly knows what was in the bag and what it is used for?"

"Yeah, but it's not her fault,"

"I think the two of you should go home now Ross,"

"Arin no! She didn't mean any harm, she just gave a suggestion to Suzy that's all,"

"Ross get Holly and get out of my house!"

Arin's face was red with rage as he screamed at Ross, the girls heard him from downstairs and rushed up to see what the screaming was about. Suzy immediately ran to Arin and grabbed his arm, pulling slightly to try and get his attention

"Arin would you stop screaming? The neighbours will think you're crazy,"

Suzy's voice was a rare mix of both anger and happiness, she did want Arin to stop screaming but at the same time she was being slightly playful, after all if she got angry then the situation would probably worsen. Holly looked at Arin's red face and then over to Ross' slightly pale and scared face, when she noticed Ross' fear she went to him and held his hands in hers

"What's wrong Ross? Is everything ok?"

Ross wanted to reply to Holly but he knew that it would make everything worse, he looked over to a still angry Arin who had Suzy pulling at his arm, trying to understand the situation and what had happened

"Arin, tell me why you are screaming at Ross right now!"

"You wanna know Suzy? You really want to know?"

"Yes I do!"

"Maybe I'm angry because you've been discussing our sex life with Holly, how do you think that makes me feel?"

Arin's face was about ready to melt from anger, he was glaring a hole through Suzy and through the wall behind her, after several seconds of deafening silence Suzy looked up into his normally calm and caring eyes with rage in her own and shouted back as loud as she could

"How does that make you feel Arin? Big whoop you have a wife and we have sex. Why does it matter that they know that?"

"They don't need to know the details, that's private and between us!"

Ross spoke up through the shouts as he grabbed Holly's arm and ran past the two

"We're leaving, see you guys later,"

Arin gripped Ross tight by the arm and turned him to look into his eyes, almost making Ross wet himself in fear of what was coming his way, he didn't think Arin would ever hit him but if he was going to then it was going to be now

"You can leave, but never come back, and never call or text me again,"

"What! Arin it's just all a big misunderstanding, come on,"

"Ross!"

Ross shrunk slightly, his only comfort being Holly's soft hand rubbing his arm to keep him grounded and stopping him from passing out. When he looked up at Arin he knew how serious the situation was, there was no room for joking around or having fun, Arin was super pissed and he really didn't want to see Ross ever again. As Arin let go and slightly pushed Ross back he turned to Suzy to continue what would probably be a pointless argument that ended with at least one of them in tears, but Suzy wasn't there, instead she was by Ross' side making sure he wasn't hurt from Arin grabbing his arm. Arin put his hand on her shoulder and span her round to look at her face to face

"First you discuss private things with them and now you rush to his side because I held onto his arm? Do you actually care about me at all Suzy?"

Suzy froze and time froze with her, deep down she knew that Arin didn't mean it, she knew that it was the anger and that the sweet and loving Arin that she knew was still there, just blocked by this fog of unjustified hate. Part of Suzy wanted to apologise so that everything could be good again, but she knew that she didn't have to apologise, at least not until Arin did for probably hurting Ross and shouting at her. She looked back at Arin with a look of pure anger and opened her mouth to talk, then closed it and turned to Holly, grabbing her and Ross by the arm and going down the stairs

"Suzy where are you going? Get back here right now!"

"If you want them to leave then I'm leaving too, I'll ring you in the morning,"

"Suzy wait, I'm sorry baby,"

Arin ran down the stairs after her but stopped dead in his tracks when she turned to meet his face with deathly glare

"Don't 'baby' me, I'm sleeping somewhere else tonight, we'll talk about this in the morning,"

She left with Holly and Ross and slammed the door in Arin's face, suddenly Arin felt the same feeling of abandonment and misery that he had made Suzy feel not too long ago. He felt like part of him had been ripped out and instead of going after the clearly aggravated Suzy he instead went into the kitchen and poured himself a drink, looking at the pictures of her around the house and crying for what felt like a lifetime. When Suzy got outside she began to break down and cry, but the tears had barely left her eyes before Holly pulled her close and began to rub her back gently, whispering to her about how it was all going to be ok and how it was just a hiccup. Without asking for a place Suzy quickly found herself in Holly and Ross' house with a thin blanket around her and a cup of tea in her hands, she was sat between the two people who seemed to be caring for her like a baby and for a while she began to feel herself calm down

"Suzy, I'm so so sorry about this, I know I'm dumb when it comes to love and all that, but I really didn't mean anything to happen,"

"It's ok, it's not your fault anyway, Arin shouldn't have hurt you and got so crazy,"

"He didn't hurt me, I'm fine,"

"That's nice to hear, thanks for letting me relax here for a bit,"

Holly put her arm around Suzy's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug, laughing at how they accidently hit their heads together before pulling back to see Suzy ever so slightly smile. She began to rub her leg gently as she talked to her

"You're welcome in our house anytime you want, right Ross?"

"Yea, no matter what time it is or what the issue is,"

"You two are so kind, I should probably be going now anyway,"

Suzy went to stand up but was blocked by Holly pulling her slightly down and talking to her in a stern yet still gentle voice

"Suzy you are not going back to that house tonight,"

"Yea, I know, I'll just go get a hotel room, I'm sure I can find a cheap one,"

"What kind of friends would we be to let that happen, you can sleep here,"

"But you guys don't have a guest room,"

Ross stood and signalled to the two girls to get up with him, when they were all standing he flipped the couch cushions out of his way and unfolded the middle section to reveal a rather large bed. He then pointed to the one bedroom of the house

"You can take our bed, It's more comfortable than this thing,"

"No no no, it's good enough of you to let me stay here but I can't take your bed,"

"Suzy I insist, you need a good night's sleep, let me just get Orph out of there so he doesn't attack you during the night,"

Ross disappeared into the room to grab the cat as Suzy turned to Holly with a weak smile on her face, she laughed as Holly smiled back and opened her arms for a hug. As the two hugged Ross came back with Orph and let him run around the house, making sure he didn't get back into the bedroom, he then looked over to the girls and smiled happily at how Suzy seemed to be getting better. When night came Suzy went into the bedroom after thanking Ross and Holly a million more times, then they lay down on the surprisingly comfortable sofa bed. As they lay staring at the ceiling Ross felt Holly's hands on his face and was suddenly met with a kiss, he turned to see Holly smiling happily at him

"That was a really sweet think you did for Suzy,"

"I couldn't let her sleep on the couch, that'd just be mean,"

"She's lucky to have a friend like you,"

"Thanks, but you're the one who always helps calm her down, you two are like sisters,"

Holly giggled and suddenly felt a brushing against her leg, making her blush and look into Ross' eyes. Ross smiled back unaware of Holly's realisation and began to giggle as she stared at him

"What are you doing Holly, you look so creepy,"

"I like the way we are lying, it's really comfortable,"

She leaned over and kissed Ross as she finished her sentence and was quickly returned the favour as Ross kissed back. The two continued kissing until a brushing against Ross' face made him laugh and open his eyes to see Holly's smiling face, but instead was met with a waving black furry tail.

"Orph, come on!"

Holly laughed as Ross batted the cat away and sighed unhappily

"Looks like that cat doesn't want it's master taken away,"

"He doesn't know what he wants, sometimes he likes being petted and other times he bites me because of it,"

"Awwww, you want me to kiss the bites better,"

"God dammit Holly,"

The two laughed as they watched Orph run around the room and play with the various objects in it, they loved being in each other's company and could only imagine the pain that Suzy was going through. In the bedroom just a few meters away from the happy couple Suzy lay still and stared at the ceiling, she had fights with Arin before and knew that they would work it all out, but only if he was willing to apologise for the mean things he said to her. As she began to drift off to sleep she turned on her side and cried softly as she realise Arin wasn't there to hold her and make her feel better, tonight she was alone for the first time in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and Merry Christmas to you all


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning Ross woke up earlier than he had in a long time, he rolled over to see Holly sleeping peacefully and decided to make himself some breakfast. He got up and went into the kitchen, put some bread in the toaster and began to flip through his phone to keep himself entertained. When the toast popped he spread a thin layer of jam over it and sat in the kitchen eating it, still looking through the internet at pictures of cats and videos of people falling over, all the while trying to stop himself from laughing loudly and waking the others. After he finished eating he went t go to the toilet, only to stop outside the bedroom as he heard a sharp breath inside. He gently placed his ear to the door to confirm his suspicions and heard Suzy gently weeping to herself, and it broke his heart. He gently tapped on the door and spoke as gently as he could without risking waking Holly.

"Suzy? Do you mind if I come in?"

"No, it's ok,"

Ross opened the door and walked into the dim room, gently closing it behind him and walking over to the bed. He sat beside Suzy and let her catch her breath before he looked at her and smiled softly

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, I didn't realise I was being loud,"

"No it's ok I was awake, I just heard you when I was on my way to the toilet,"

"I really miss him Ross,"

Without warning Suzy hugged Ross tight just as he had the day he saw his ex in that ice cream store. Ross acted quickly and began to gently pat Suzy on the back, speaking to her as if he was a father and his daughter had been bullied on the playground

"I know Suze, but everything's going to be fine, trust me,"

"How could you know Ross?"

"When Shannon left me I felt horrible, I felt like part of me had exploded and was never going to be fixed again, but you and Arin helped me through it and made me realise that love is worth fighting for, and now I have Holly. If the two of you could help me feel love again then I'm sure Holly and I could help you and Arin to smooth everything out,"

"You think so?"

"I know so. You want me to make you some breakfast?"

"Yes please, but just something simple like..."

"Like cornflakes?"

Suzy smiled as Ross got up to make her breakfast, they had known each other for so long that Suzy had almost forgot how much Ross knew about her. She waited a few minutes for Ross and after a while looked over to her phone to check if she had gotten any texts.

Arin: Please call me as soon as you get this, we really need to talk

Suzy was about to reply when the door swung open and Ross walked in with a bowl and spoon in his hand. He handed them to Suzy and sat back down on the bed as she ate, then when she finished he let her lean against him again as they began to talk

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks for letting me stay here, and take your bed,"

"That's what friends are for Suze, if you ever need to talk about anything you know you can come to me,"

"I  know, you're such a nice guy, Holly's really lucky,"

Ross blushed as Suzy leaned against him and closed her eyes, he had never been told that he was a lucky guy to be with and it felt really good, but he knew that he wasn't the one that needed a pick me up right now

"You think so? To be honest with you I was always slightly jealous of Arin,"

"God dammit Ross you're making me blush,"

"It's true, you're the most awesome girl ever, except for Holly of course,"

The two laughed and smiled as the doorway became slightly blocked by a shadowy figure. The two looked up to see Holly smiling back at them, she then walked over and sat herself on Ross' lap, turning to face the two

"What's so funny?"

"We were just talking about how awesome Suzy is,"

Holly didn't need a hint and straight away knew that Ross was making an attempt to cheer her up. She looked at Suzy and smiled her usual warm smile

"You really are, and you're a great friend,"

Suzy began to blush at the compliments and noticed that she was still leaning against Ross so she straightened herself up and looked at Holly nervously, fearing that she would be angry at the contact between the two. Holly smiled back for a while before she caught on to the situation and began to laugh

"Suzy I don't mind you leaning against Ross, you two have know each other for ages and you don't love him so..."

She shrugged her shoulders sarcastically as Suzy smiled and leaned back against Ross again, letting him put an arm around her. They three continued to talk until Holly got up from Ross' lap to make herself breakfast, soon after Holly left the room Ross and Suzy got up and went into the living room to sit down on the couch. Suzy laughed at Ross' ripped pyjamas and how he got annoyed at Orph for climbing onto his lap

"Orph, do you ever sleep?"

"Cat's usually sleep when they are alone, so maybe he does while you're at work,"

"Damn cat never leaves me alone, I'm starting to get annoyed at him,"

Holly walked over to join the two and sat back on Ross' lap with a bowl of cereal after shooing Orph. She kissed him and pouted sarcastically

"You wouldn't dare get rid of Orph would you? He's part of the family,"

Suzy giggled as Holly and Ross continued to debate Orph being able to stay, they all knew it was just a joke and that Orph wasn't going anywhere but it was still fun to listen to them talk. After a while Suzy got up and made her way towards the bedroom, only to be stopped by Holly calling over to her

"Suzy, where you going?"

"I'm just going to get dressed and ready for today,"

"You sure you don't just want to sit around here all day?"

"Are you sure, I'd feel bad just taking over your house like that,"

"Suzy what did we tell you? You can stay here all year if you want,"

Suzy looked at Ross who was smiling and playing with Orph and then back to Holly, who was smiling back at her with a caring and loving look. Suzy shook her head and cleared her throat

"No, I should probably go back home and sort things out with Arin,"

Ross sprang up from his seat, knocking Orph onto the floor and causing him to scurry away

"You sure you don't need any help?"

"No I'm fine, thanks for the offer. I'm going to get ready,"

"Ok,"

Suzy went into the bedroom and locked the door to get changed. When it was clear that they were alone Holly turned to Ross with a slightly aggravated look on her face

"What the hell was that about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why would she need your help?"

"I don't know, I just don't want to risk losing her or Arin, they are like family to me,"

Holly's heart melted slightly as she saw Ross frown at the thought of losing them. She knew that Arin had helped Ross when he was at his lowest in life and it was pretty obvious that he was close to Suzy so she could only imagine seeing the two of them being out of Ross' life. She hugged Ross close and kissed him, resting his head on her shoulder and speaking to him softly

"I', sorry, I should have realised how important they are to you,"

"You don't have to apologise, let's leave Suzy over to her house,"

"Can you do me a favour first?"

"What is it?"

"Say 'holiday',"

"God dammit Holly, I thought you'd stopped that,"

"Come on, it's so cute,"

"You think it's cute?"

Holly blushed slightly as she realised she had let a secret slip, it wasn't that she didn't want Ross to know that it was cute that annoyed her, it was the fear of Ross using it when she was angry to calm her down. Ross smiled widely as he realised that he had found out Holly's secret and cleared his throat dramatically

"Holiday, I really think you and I should go on holiday to Australia. It's the best place for a holiday,"

Holly began to laugh hysterically as Ross giggled along with her like an innocent child. The two giggled for a while until the bedroom door opened and Suzy walked into the room, looking at the two with a look of confusion and worry on her face. Holly noticed and blushed slightly, knowing she probably looked like she belonged in the loony bin, but before she could open her mouth to talk Ross jumped up from the couch and ran over to Suzy, hiding behind her and pointing to Holly

"She's crazy, she said she wanted to eat me!"

"Ross! You would really throw me under the bus just like that, he was saying things in his accent Suzy,"

"I know Holly, why would anyone want to eat Ross,"

She giggled but then felt Ross let go of her and walk around her to look at her with a stern face, straining as hard as he could to stop himself from laughing

"Why wouldn't anyone want to eat me, I'd be delicious,"

Suzy began to giggle as Holly walked up behind Ross and pull him into a hug, kissing his cheek and making him release the laughter that he was holding back

"I'd eat you Ross, and I'm sure you'd be delicious,"

"I'd eat you too Holls,"

"Ah my Ross, such a romantic huh Suzy?"

The three laughed together before Holly and Ross got ready to leave Suzy back over to her house. When they were all ready they got into the car and sped off to Suzy's house. When they got there Suzy got out and thanked Holly and Ross for what must have been the billionth time before she walked up to the door and took a few deep breaths and knocked gently. At first there was silence but Suzy didn't let any horrible thoughts creep into her brain, Arin was fine, he was just at his friends house. Just as she was ready to walk away she heard stumbling behind the door and a man shouting

"Arin for god's sake you need to get up, I'm not going to be here forever you know,"

The man sounded angry and it made Suzy slightly afraid as to who was going to open the door, but Holly and Ross were away and there was nothing she could do. When the door swung open a man stood looking at her with a warm and opening smile on his face, this guy was probably the tallest person Suzy had ever seen, and she felt small when she was with Arin. Suzy began to feel awkward, which was a strange feeling to her as she was outside her own house. Just as she was ready to turn around and run away the man put his hand out and cleared his throat

"You must be Suzy, I'm Dan, I'm a friend of Arins,"

"Yea I'm...I'm Suzy, is he here?"

"Yea he's in the kitchen, I'll go get him,"

"Ok,"

Suzy waited as the man went into the house and began to call out to Arin, after a while she heard Arin's shaky voice, it was filled with a certain optimism and joy that was almost undesirable

"Really? She's here?"

"She's at the front door man,"

Arin gasped happily and jumped from the couch, pushing Dan out of the way and onto the floor as he did. He ran to the door and almost knocked into Suzy as he rushed towards her and hugged her tight, like he was drowning in the ocean and she was the one remaining life boat

"Suzy I'm so so sorry, I was so dumb for acting that way to you, I love you so much,"

"It's ok baby, I'm not angry,"

"What? You should be super pissed, I'm surprised you didn't leave me on the spot,"

"Arin I would never leave a guy like you, we've know each other for so long, of course we are going to have a few fights,"

"Really? You're not angry?"

"Well I am a little angry but I still love you,"

"Yes! She still loves me!"

Arin screamed with happiness as he picked Suzy up and swung her around, causing her to giggle uncontrollably. As Arin span her Suzy began to realise how dumb this whole thing was, as if anything could convince her to leave such a beautiful and amazing person as Arin, when she was finally let down she looked down the hall to see Dan leaning standing in the doorframe smiling at them, clearly filled with joy at the fact that Arin was happy again. Suzy mouthed a small thank you to him and noticed his small smile as he disappeared back into the kitchen. She grabbed Arin by the arm and pulled at him to get his attention

"Arin, Arin, I need to say something,"

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry too, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of Ross and Holly, I never meant too,"

"You don't need to apologise, I shouldn't have taken that stuff so seriously,"

Suzy smiled as Arin pulled her into a hug and kissed her for what felt like the first time in years. She couldn't imagine herself happier at any point in time and a blush began to hit her face as she felt Arin  lift her from the waist and legs and carry her into the kitchen, where Dan was sitting at the table scribbling in a notebook

"Dan, she still loves me!"

"I know, I think the whole neighbourhood heard,"

Arin stuck his tongue out at the man and looked down to Suzy, who was smiling peacefully with her eyes closed and her head leaning against his chest. Arin smiled and kissed her forehead slightly, then brushed her hair out of the way of her face and looked up to Dan

"She's probably really tired, I'm going to lay her down on the bed, I'll be right back,"

"That's cool,"

Arin walked up the stairs with Suzy in his arms and set her down gently on the bed, kissing her once more and quietly whispering into her ear so as not to wake her

"I love you Suzy,"

Just as Arin left her side and was about to close the door he heard a faint voice from the room, and looked over to his wife

"I love you to baby,"

Arin smiled with pure joy and left the room, closing the door gently and creeping down the stairs into the kitchen to talk to Dan, where he stayed for what seemed like hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been able to upload recently because my laptop decided to randomly stop working and apparently PC World employees are very ignorant over the topic of random computer crashes. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope to be updating as well as posting new work regularly soon


	13. Chapter 13

A few months had passed since Arin's relationship with Suzy almost fell apart, but they were back on track now and stronger than ever. Every morning Suzy would wake up and turn onto her side to see the peaceful face of the man she loved more than life itself, and every time she did she would feel like the luckiest girl in the world, but sadly Ross was not feeling so great with Holly. Ross and Holly had only ever had a fight once, it was some stupid thing that the both of them had forgotten about and moved on from, but Ross still felt a pain in his gut when he saw Holly stressed out from work or upset about something. He knew he had to do something and realised that if he wanted her to be happy then he would have to make the biggest decision he'd ever made, he would have to ask her to marry him

"Why do you never pay attention when we are playing?"

"Huh, I was, we just did the...the thing,"

"You're so cute when you're flustered,"

He blushed and put his attention back to the game, he payed as little attention as he could and started to think about what life would be like if he married Holly. It wasn't going to be to different, he knew that much, but it was still an exciting idea for him, maybe it would make everyone seem him as an adult and not a child anymore, or maybe it would rip their otherwise perfect relationship apart. He felt a small nudge and noticed that the game had been paused, when he looked to his right he saw Holly looking back with a concerned expression on her face

"Tell me what's wrong,"

"What are you talking about? Everything's fine,"

"You know that's not going to work, I've known you too long, you always get a certain look when there's something wrong, please tell me, I want to help make things better,"

Her tone was sincere as could be, she spoke gently and softly, making him feel like he could admit a murder to her and she still wouldn't judge him. He sighed heavily and put down the controller, leaning back in the couch and looking up at the ceiling. Holly just watched and waited, she gave him all the time he needed and was not going to rush him, even if it meant sitting here all night

"It's something that you might be scared to hear,"

Holly felt slightly more tense when she heard this, she knew that Ross had a different sense of fear than her and that it might not be that bad but she was still worried about what he was going to say. She swallowed the fear back and ran her fingers through his hair slowly and gently, making him feel like he was made of air

"Why would I ever be scared to hear you say anything?"

Ross opened his mouth to speak and just as the words were leaving his lips the sound of the ringing phone made them both jump, Ross extended his arm out and grabbed the phone

"Hello?"

"Hey man, want to do something tonight?"

"What, just the two of us?"

"Ross shut up, when you say it like that it sounds like a date, and no, I meant the four of us,"

"Ok Arin, I'll go on a date with you,"

"You're with Holly right now aren't you?"

"I'll text you later, I love you too,"

Ross kissed down the phone only to be met with a sigh and the click of the receiver. He leaned back again and put his arm on Holly's back, rubbing gently as she chuckled at the conversation and imagined what Arin's reaction was

"Why do you torment him like that?"

"It's just a joke, I know he's not really gay, and he was inviting us over tonight,"

"That sounds great, but back to what we were talking about,"

Ross sighed and looked back up at the ceiling, for some strange reason when he looked up there it felt like Holly wasn't there, even if he had his hand on her back or she threaded her fingers through his hair

"Ok, you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah, I don't care what it is, I just want you to be happy,"

"That's all I want of you, I just want you to be happy even when I'm sad, you'll remember that won't you?"

Holly instantly froze in fear, she wasted no time in lifting her head and looking into Ross' scared eyes

"What do you mean? Where are you going?"

"No, I'm not going anywhere, I just mean that I don't want you to forget how much I love you,"

"I'll never forget, you're the greatest guy ever,"

She sighed with relieve and lay back down across his chest, smiling as she listened to his heartbeat, it was like a natural stress relief to hear it, but she began to get worried when it picked up slightly

"Ok, I'm...I'm going to say it,"

"Take all the time you need,"

She heard a sharp breath inwards and closed her eyes in anticipation of what was going to happen next, but there was no way that she could have predicted it

"I love you, and I think we should be married,"

Holly lay still on Ross' chest, not moving and letting the words sink in, Ross on the other hand was a mess. He kept his head pointed upwards as if he was trying to be taken up to heaven, his heart was beating a mile a minute and tears had began to stream down his face as he realised Holly had went silent. He had fucked it all up, everything they had was wasted and she was going to leave him now, god he was such an idiot, this is why girls never liked him

"You want me to marry you?"

Her tone of slight confusion almost made his heart rip in two, he late out a shaky breath and spoke as loud and clear as he could in his destroyed state

"Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin everything, I just..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well aren't you going to leave me now?"

"Why would I leave my husband?"

Ross looked down to see Holly with her eyes still shut and her head resting on his chest, a huge smiled was on her face and as he reached down to brush his hand over her cheek she began to blush

"What?"

"Of course I'm going to marry you Ross!"

She jumped up and hugged him tight, sitting on his lap and squeezing him to the point where they were almost one entity. Ross threw his arms around her waist and smiled with joy, whipping the tears from his eyes and kissing her with all the love he could, he felt a happiness that he didn't know was possible and it felt like nothing bad was ever going to happen again, like his life had hit its greatest moment and everything from now on was bliss. He quickly pulled back from her to look into her eyes and smile

"I...I don't have a ring yet, but I'm going to buy one first thing tomorrow, I promise,"

"I don't care, we won't need it until the day anyway, I can't believe this is happening!"

"I know, this is the greatest moment of my life, I love you so much Holly,"

"I love you too Ross,"

The two continued to hug in silence until Holly eventually spoke up, the room had been so quiet that the sound of her voice almost made Ross jump

"Ross?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember the day we met?"

"Yeah, it was the best day of my life,"

Holly and Ross smiled at the memory of how they met and fell in love, Ross had just been out of one of the worst relationships possible and Holly had been single for so long that she was about ready to give up, but then they found each other and hadn't felt so good since. Holly began to chuckle, causing Ross to look down at her with confusion on his face

"What's so funny,"

"Do you remember how nervous you were?"

"Yeah, but how could I not be, you're the prettiest girl ever,"

He leant down and kissed the top of her head, smiling as he gently sniffed her soft hair and held her close. Soon after the two got married and it was the most magical day of either of their lives. As they lay in bed at night and held each other close, Ross began to think that maybe wanting to get as drunk as he could that night was the best decision he had ever made, while Holly considered how different her life would be if she didn't decide to quit her job the day Ross hit his head.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a fun ride but all good things must come to an end. After some major malfunctions I finally got my laptop back so I should be posting more regularly now, but alas not here, enjoy!


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